The Life Of Emily Erin
by Meegs82
Summary: **THIS IS A REPOST** 4th part in a series. Part 1: 25 Simple Words, Pt. 2: Regarding Parker, Pt. 3: Weddings Of The Year. What would happen if Booth and Brennan were a family? WARNING: Angst ahead! Family, fluff, Hodgela, and Parker.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 2, 2014~~~~~

"No! I don't wanna!" a little boy screeched, plopping to the grass as he grabbed desperately for the legs of the woman standing next to him.

"Baby boy, you have to go," the woman replied as she bent down to pry the child from her calves.

"But Mama!" he protested as he gripped his little fingers more tightly around her knees.

"Sweetie, I promise that Daddy and I will be back soon. And you get to play with Emily and you get to meet a lot of other little boys and girls," the woman explained to the now nearly crying child as she succeeded in removing his arms from her legs. She bent down and swept him up into her arms, brushing the lone tear from his cheek.

"Where's Emwy, Mama?" the little boy asked.

The woman glanced around. "That…my sweet…is a very good question," she replied, a look of confusion on her face.

"Where are they?" a man asked as he took his place next to the woman.

"Oh, Emily probably found some way to tie them up," the woman replied, rubbing the little boy's back as she spoke.

They both looked around them. 10 yards away, parents were leading their kids into a school building that read "Highland Elementary School," which was where they needed to be in a matter of minutes.

"What's up with you, tiger?" the man asked the boy as he reached forward and grabbed him from his mother's arms. "What's that sad face I see, huh?" he asked as he gently flicked the little boy's bottom lip with his index finger. "No sad faces on the first day of school," he exclaimed as he threw the little boy into the air and caught him.

In spite of himself, the little boy erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Daddy, put me down!" the little boy sputtered through his laughter.

With a bright smile on his face, the father obeyed his son and placed him firmly on the ground.

The woman glanced at her watch, fidgeting slightly.

"10 minutes. The kids are supposed to be sitting in that classroom in 10 minutes. Where on earth are they?" the woman pondered aloud.

"Davey!" a little girl's voice shrilled through the air.

"Emwy!" the little boy responded as he jumped towards her and they fell to the ground, arms around each other.

"Sorry we're late, Angela," Booth began, "Emily decided it would be fun to see if toothpaste would work to wash her hair," he explained as he looked down at his daughter, whose head of dark ringlets was still wet from the massive washing it had just undergone.

"Daddy, you said it cleans teef, so I thought it would clean my hair, too," Emily explained in a logical Brennanesque tone as she looked at her dad, her blue-gray eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it, Dad?" Hodgins offered.

"It makes no sense at all. But try telling that to a 5 year old," Brennan said as she walked up with a doll in her hand.

"I don't want Dora, mommy! I'm a big girl 'cause I'm going to kindy-garden and I don't need stupid Dora," Emily informed her mother as she folded her arms and threw her chin into the air and away from Brennan.

"Last week, she didn't go anywhere without Dora and now…" Brennan said as she sighed.

"Yeah, well, it's better than being glued to it forever. Look at Davey's Spiderman tucked in his pocket," Angela whispered as she pointed to her son's pants, which were now covered in grass stains as he had taken to making dirt castles while Emily threw grass at him.

"Hey! Stop throwing gwass at me! Mama!" Davey whined as he got up and walked the few feet to his mother.

"Emily, stop throwing grass at him. That's not nice," Booth intervened as he brushed the dirt and grass from her hands.

Emily giggled. "It was fun."

As Booth brushed, he noticed a tinge of purple underneath Emily's sleeve. He turned her hand over and pushed the sleeve up, revealing a quarter sized bruise.

"What did you do, Emmy?" Booth asked his daughter, concern evident on his face.

Emily looked down at her arm and scrunched her face. "I don't know," she said as she shrugged.

"You always have a new bump or bruise, huh, kiddo?" Booth said, bending his head to kiss his daughter's arm.

"That tickles, Daddy," Emily responded as she pulled her arm away.

"Okay, you two. Time for school," Hodgins said as he ruffled his son's head of neverending blonde curls.

"Remember, we'll be here to get you when school is out, okay?" Brennan said as she leaned down to Emily and brushed the remaining smudge of dust from her cheek.

"I know, Mommy," Emily said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, what did we say about rolling our eyes?" Brennan asked her, her lips pursed and her eyes piercing.

Emily matched her mother's expression. "That it's not nice and it's diswespectul," Emily replied, nearly rolling her eyes again as she spoke.

"Right. Now give Mommy and Daddy a hug and go have fun," Brennan said as she opened her arms.

Emily hesitated for a moment, but then burst forward and jumped into Brennan's arms. She squeezed as she stroked Emily's hair. She had a hold of her for only a second before Emily wriggled free.

"Okay, I'll have fun," she replied, bouncing into Booth's arms as she spoke.

"Alright, pumpkin. Take it easy on the other girls, okay? Not all of them are as…spunky as you," Booth said as he hugged.

"I'm spunky!" Emily shouted as she threw her bruised arm in the air and pointed to the sky, her eyes sparkling as she giggled.

The adults couldn't keep from smiling. Spunky was just the beginning of Emily Erin Booth.

"Pwomise to hold my hand, Emwy?" Davey asked, a slight whine in his voice as his lower lip sagged a bit.

"Pwomise!" Emily replied as she grabbed his hand. His eyes lit up and his frown turned into a smile.

Brennan and Angela looked to their counterparts and took hold of their children's hands and led them up the steps; Brennan on the left, Emily holding her hand, Davey holding Emily's hand, and Angela holding Davey's. Brennan and Angela looked to each other and smiled.

"And you have to pwomise to play with me, kay?" Davey said, looking at Emily.

"I told you I pwomise! Geesh!" Emily said, exasperated at having to repeat herself. She had taken to using "geesh" when she was a mere 18 months old and she still hadn't gotten sick of it.

Brennan smirked and Angela smiled as they walked their kids into their first day of kindergarten.

************************************************************************

"I hope Davey makes it through the day," Angela said as she took a sip of coffee. She was clearly quite worried.

"Oh, don't worry, Ang. Emily will take good care of him," Brennan replied, smiling at her best friend from across the table at the Royal Diner.

"I know she will. She always does. He's just so…sweet. And sensitive and loving. I think he's 90% Jack and 10% me," Angela said, smirking slightly.

Brennan chuckled. "I honestly don't know where she gets her, shall we say, 'spunkiness?'" Brennan said as she smiled.

"You're not much of a genius, are you?" Angela offered.

Brennan's brow furrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?" she inquired.

"I would bet money that YOU were exactly like HER when you were in kindergarten. Thank God she has some Booth in her," Angela replied, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Ha-ha. I wasn't that…stubborn," Brennan replied, staring at Angela defiantly.

"Oh please!" Angela replied as her face scrunched and her eyes rolled again.

"What? I…wasn't. I was a spirited child, but I was not as stubborn as my daughter," Brennan attempted to explain.

Angela shot her a skeptical look.

Brennan opened her mouth halfway as she glared at her friend, who quite obviously knew her better than she knew herself. After another second, Brennan sighed.

"Okay, fine," Brennan conceded as she now rolled her eyes. "I suppose I WAS that stubborn," she confessed.

"Of course you were, sweetie," Angela replied, reaching forward and squeezing Brennan's hands.

Brennan snickered as she smiled.

"Getting excited?" she asked Angela.

"I think 'nervous' is a more appropriate word," Angela replied, releasing her grip on Brennan's hands and leaning back in her chair.

"Why are you nervous?" Brennan asked.

"What did you do when your first book came out? Wait, I think I remember. Oh right, you jetted off to Guatemala. You never were one for celebrating your obvious writing talent," Angela replied.

"I didn't want all the hype and YOU would have gotten me drunk had we gone to the premiere party like you wanted to," Brennan replied, leaning her head in her left hand and smirking at Angela.

"Yeah, I thought the whole publishing party thing would be a fabulous idea…now, I'm not so sure. I just get this sinking in the pit in my stomach every time I think of all those people coming to a party…for ME. Of course, it is a little flattering," Angela said and then added the last part with a smile.

"Hodgins wouldn't have settled for anything less. Ang, your first children's book is being released and it's going to be the best thing since 'Madeline,'" Brennan said with an encouraging tone. "And since when do you get nervous?" she inquired, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I don't know. I guess it's just that the party's getting closer and I'm suddenly realizing that everything is actually…happening. Who would have thought I'd be writing and illustrating my own series of children's books?" Angela asked, marveling at the thought herself.

"Well, I'm glad you hung on as long as you did at the Jeffersonian," Brennan replied.

"I'm sorry, Bren, I just couldn't take it any more," Angela told her friend with as much regret as she could muster.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ang. You're doing something you love and you're happy. That's what's important," Brennan reassured her friend as she placed her hand on her arm and squeezed gently.

Angela smiled silently for a few moments before speaking.

"Bigger than 'Madeline?' Really?" Angela asked, amazement in her tone and a look of wonder on her face.

"It's gonna be huge, Angela," Brennan replied a moment before her cell phone rang. Smiling, she removed the phone from her purse and glanced at the caller ID and she frowned.

"What is it?" Angela inquired.

Brennan looked to Angela without speaking as she punched the send button.

"Temperance Brennan," she answered.

"Hello, is this Emily Booth's mother?" a female voice inquired.

"Yes, it is. Is something wrong?" Brennan asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Hi, this is Patricia Morgan, the nurse's assistant at Lafayette Elementary," the woman began.

"What's wrong with my daughter?" Brennan asked harshly.

"We have had a little incident on the playground. Emily is alright, but she has a pretty nasty gash on her head and a large bruise on her leg. It seems that she fell off of the monkey bars," the woman explained calmly. "The nurse is tending to her injuries as we speak, but I think she needs to go home. It says here that you are a doctor?"

"Yes, but not a medical doctor. Is the wound bleeding profusely?" Brennan asked, eager to know the extent of her daughter's condition.

"No, ma'am, it has stopped bleeding," the woman replied.

"I will be there right away. Thank you," Brennan said as she punched the end button.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked.

"Emily fell off the monkey bars and hit her head. They say she's alright, but-"

Angela didn't even let her finish. "Check please!"

************************************************************************


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"Did she fall or did she jump?" Booth asked as he opened the door to his SUV.

"Booth, that's not the point. I'm on my way to pick her up-" Brennan began.

"You have class in 45 minutes. I'll pick her up. I can take off work," Booth countered as he started the car and buckled his seatbelt.

"I can get the TA to fill in for me, he has all my notes. If she needs to go to the hospital, I want to be there," Brennan replied, running a stop sign as she spoke.

"Okay, fine. But I'm meeting you there," Booth said as he pulled the car out of the parking garage.

"Okay, bye," Brennan said as she ran yet another stop sign.

************************************************************************

"Hi Mommy," Emily said calmly as Brennan entered the nurse's office.

"Baby, are you alright?" Brennan asked her daughter as she walked quickly to her, crouched, and gave her a hug.

"Yeah, Mommy, I'm fine. My head kinda hurts," Emily replied as she reached for the gauze bandage that had been placed at the site of her wound.

"Let Mommy see," Brennan said as she began removing the gauze so she could get a better look. She separated Emily's hair carefully and squinted at the abrasion. It had started bleeding again, but Brennan couldn't figure out why, seeing as how it was superficial.

"It was so cool, Mommy. I did a flip off the monkey bars!" Emily exclaimed.

Brennan's lips pursed and her eyes nearly rolled as she thought back to Booth's comment. *Daddy was right* she thought to herself. She located the exact site of the wound and brushed Emily's hair away to get an even closer look.

"Ow!" Emily screeched as she broke from Brennan's grasp.

"Sorry, baby," Brennan soothed as she reached for her daughter's hand and pulled her into a hug.

"Do I have to go to the hospotol?" Emily asked, her lower lip sagging.

"No, baby, Mommy can take care of you. You want to go home?" Brennan asked as she rubbed her back.

Emily nodded and gave her mother another hug.

"Let me see your leg," Brennan said.

Emily pulled out of the embrace and rolled up her pant leg to reveal a large, purplish-blue bruise approximately the size of a silver dollar pancake. It covered most of her calf and part of her shin.

"Emily!" Booth exclaimed as he rushed over to his two girls.

"Daddy!" Emily cried as he hugged her.

"Booth, look at this," Brennan said as she lifted Emily's pant leg.

Booth looked down at the bruise as he released his death grip on his daughter.

"Geez, pumpkin, you've been playing rough today, huh?" Booth said to Emily.

"She had to have hit the ground with incredible force to result in this large of a hematoma," Brennan explained, confused as to what could have caused the force seeing as how her daughter was no more than 45 pounds.

"Really? Em, how hard were you playing? You didn't listen to Daddy, did you?" Booth said, looking Emily in the eyes.

"I wasn't playing THAT hard! I did a cool flip, that's it!" Emily insisted, her eyes wide.

"Promise?" Booth inquired.

"Pwomise! Geesh!" Emily insisted, now slightly irritated. "Can I get a milkshake?" Emily asked a moment later.

"Only if you take that 'geesh' back, missy," Booth bargained.

Emily sighed. "Okay, I take it back," Emily replied.

"Alright, then let's go," Booth said as he looked to Brennan, whose brow was creased as her mind attempted to understand Emily's injuries. "Temperance?" he asked after she hadn't moved.

"Do you think one of the bigger kids could have pushed her?" Brennan asked, her arms folded across her chest.

"No one pushed me, Mommy, I flipped!" Emily explained to her mother.

"A little R&R and she'll be fine," Booth said as he could see that his daughter was feeling fine. Brennan, on the other hand, could see that Emily's injuries didn't match the story she had told. She was in full scientist mode as though she were back at the Jeffersonian staring at a skull.

"It doesn't make sense, Booth. Emily, are you sure a big, mean boy didn't push you?" Brennan asked her daughter again.

"No, Mommy, I told you. Can we go now?" Emily asked as Booth picked her up gently.

Brennan sighed. Emily wasn't one for telling lies and Brennan decided that as long as Emily was feeling alright and there wasn't any serious damage, everything would be fine.

"Yes, baby, we can go now," Brennan responded as she gave Emily a kiss on her forehead.

"How about the Royal Diner for that milkshake?" Booth asked as he bounced Emily in his arms.

"Yeah!" Emily exclaimed as Brennan followed them out of the office, the furrow still in her brow.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 8, 2014~~~~~

"Go long!" Booth yelled as he took a few steps backwards on the lawn.

"I AM long!" Parker yelled back as he too ran backwards, a football in his hands. A mocha colored Cocker Spaniel-mix ran alongside Parker, barking as he watched his "master" intently.

"Go longer!" Booth countered as he jogged another few steps backwards.

"Dad!" Parker yelled, rolled his eyes, and then raised the football behind his head with his left hand and released. With a nearly perfect spiral, the ball went spinning through the air.

Booth realized a little too late that he would have to jump for it and when he finally did, he missed and the ball sailed over his head and into the flowers 5 feet behind him.

"Yes!" Parker said as he pulled his right arm in towards the side of his body, a gesture that screamed "take that!"

"Okay, fine, you have a good arm. But you know, you have to hit your receiver. If he falls back, you have to adjust," Booth explained to his 12 year old son, who was about to try out for quarterback of the Takoma Park Middle School football team.

"Duh, Dad, I know that. Just wanted to show you up," Parker said as he shook his head in a mocking tone, a playful grin on his face as he began walking the 15 yards to his dad, who was picking up the football.

"Oh, really. You wanna show me up? Huh?" Booth teased and prodded as he grasped the ball. "Go long, bud!" he shouted as he stepped back and raised the ball in his right hand.

Parker realized that his dad wasn't kidding and he began running to get enough distance. The Cocker followed in his footsteps. As he ran, Booth released the football in an even more perfect spiral. Parker's eyes didn't leave the ball as he continued to run. With his tongue nearly hanging out, Parker dove for the ball…and ended up face first in a rather prickly bush…without the football.

He jumped to his feet and the dog barked. "Dad! I'm 5'4"!" Parker yelled at his father, who was snickering through a wide smile.

"Told ya to go long!" Booth added as he continued to laugh.

Parker stood in his spot for about 2 seconds before taking off to tackle his father, which he succeeded at as Booth had not been expecting it.

"Ha! Maybe I should be a linebacker! And Rufus can be my running back," Parker said as he attempted to put a stranglehold on his dad. Rufus found all of this quite amusing as he continued to bark at the wrestling team of father and son.

Booth was far too good for this and he grabbed Parker by the waist and twisted him down into the ground, laughing all the way.

"Remember, bud, I was a wrestler, too," Booth said, trying to calm down his own laughter. Booth jumped up from the ground before Parker could get another hold on him. As he hoisted himself up, he reached for his lower back and rubbed.

"What? You getting old, Dad?" Parker teased as he rose from the ground.

Booth grimaced. "Yeah, bud, I think I am," he replied as he reached forward and ruffled his son's hair. Parker ducked, but it was useless.

"Dad, quit!" he protested.

Booth laughed. "Go get the ball, huh?" Booth asked as he pointed across the front lawn.

Parker rolled his eyes and as he turned to run for the ball, a silver 4Runner pulled into the driveway.

"Hey, they're home," Parker said as he switched directions and headed for the driveway with Rufus tagging along.

Booth turned and walked the few feet to the driveway as Brennan got out and opened the back door. She unbuckled Emily from the car seat and the 5 year old bounced out, a lollipop in her mouth and something in her hands.

"Parker, look! I got you a dinasaw!" Emily exclaimed, lollipop and all, holding out her hand as she and Parker met at the edge of the drive. There in her palm was a small, green, plastic, T-Rex. Rufus attempted to sniff the dinosaur, but Parker got a hold of it before he had the chance.

Parker had been fascinated with dinosaurs ever since Brennan had given him a set of real fossils for his 8th birthday. He had since taken to collecting nearly anything that had to do with dinosaurs and/or paleontology.

"Cool, Em! Thanks!" Parker exclaimed as Emily handed him the toy.

"She couldn't wait to give that to you," Brennan said as she smiled and reached to reposition a stray curl on Emily's head.

"How are you feeling, pumpkin?" Booth asked his daughter.

"I feel a lot betta now. The docta said I have an uppa-uppa…repsitory fection," Emily replied, her eyes squinting as she tried to remember exactly what the doctor had told her.

"A few days of rest and antibiotics and you'll be good as new, baby," Brennan said as she continued to smile at her daughter. She then looked to Booth, whose face was relaxed for the first time in the 36 hours since Emily had spiked a 102 degree fever.

"Is the medicine icky?" Emily asked, looking up at her mother as she pulled her lollipop out of her mouth. Rufus quickly seized this golden opportunity and he had the red candy in his mouth within a second. "Rufus!" Emily squealed.

"It tastes like cherry," Brennan replied, attempting to grab Rufus by the collar, but failing.

Parker managed to take hold of Rufus and he pulled the lollipop out of his mouth.

"Those medicines never really taste like cherry. They make you gag," Parker told his sister with a grimace.

"What's gag mean?" Emily asked, her face scrunched.

"It means that you feel like you're gonna throw up," Parker said dramatically, his eyes wide as he looked Emily straight in the eyes.

"Ew! I don't wanna thwo up!" Emily exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air and shook them, an "icky" expression on her face.

"Parker, quit it. You're not going to throw up, I promise," Booth said as he bent down and tapped Emily on the nose.

"I betta not! Parker, you're mean!" Emily said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Okay, enough of the antics. You, my dear, need to go lie down while Mommy makes you some soup," Brennan told Emily as she pulled her away from Parker.

"I'm not hungry," Emily informed her mother.

"How 'bout you drink the soup? That way, you won't really be eating," Booth offered as he reached down and picked her up.

"That's weird, Daddy," Emily said, smiling as she shook her head, unable to believe her dad would think of such a funny thing.

"You think so?" he asked her, smiling. He started for the front door and Brennan followed.

"So, we're done playing then, eh, Dad?" Parker inquired.

"Yeah, for the day. We'll practice some drills tomorrow," Booth replied, glancing back at his son. "You mind grabbing the ball?" he asked.

Parker shrugged and turned for the other side of the yard, lollipop in hand and Rufus at his heels.

"She needs to stay home from school for the next few days," Brennan informed Booth as they reached the front steps.

"Yeah, I figured that. I can take the afternoon off tomorrow while you have class," Booth offered.

"I don't wanna miss school!" Emily cried, her bottom lip sagging as she crossed her arms. She had only been in kindergarten for 6 days, but she couldn't get enough of it.

"It's just for 2 or 3 days, Emmy," Brennan tried to explain.

"I don't care! I don't wanna miss school!" she screamed even louder, which caused Booth to lean his head back so as not to rupture his eardrums.

"Hey, hey, stop screaming. You're sick and you need to be at home," Booth tried to reason with the 5 year old in his arms.

"Not fair!" Emily screeched, her face pinched in every possible crease and corner.

"I'd give anything to miss 3 days of school," Parker said as he appeared behind them at the front door, football in hand and Rufus panting beside him.

"I like school, it's fun," Emily explained as Brennan opened the front door for everyone. Once they stepped into the entryway, Booth set Emily down.

"Yeah, that's 'cause all you do is take naps and play with Play-Dough," Parker said as he rolled his eyes.

"Nuh-uh! We do lots of other stuff!" Emily argued, crossing her arms once again as she jutted her chin out and glared at Parker. She looked EXACTLY like her mother, from defiant stare to crossed arms.

"Yeah, like what? Sing the ABC's and eat graham crackers? Ooohhh, fun!" Parker said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other, both wondering when exactly they should step in.

"That's right, I CAN sing the ABC's! A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-" Emily sang before she was cut off by her mother.

"Alright, enough, you two!" Brennan barked as she gestured with her hands and stepped in between the two bickering children.

Booth stood back and smirked, slightly amused at how much Emily was like her mother. He wondered if Brennan realized it.

"He started it!" Emily exclaimed as her mother took her by the hand.

"You're right, he did, but that doesn't mean you have to continue it," Brennan told Emily as she bent down. "Now, you go get in bed and I'll be up with Cinderella in a minute. How does that sound?" Brennan asked, knowing that this would calm down her fuming daughter right away.

"Cinderella? Yay!" Emily exclaimed as she whirled around and started up the stairs. After the first few steps, she looked back at Parker and stuck her tongue out, making a noise as she did.

Parker crossed his eyes and placed his left thumb on his nose, wrinkling it as he snorted.

"Upstairs, missy," Booth ordered as he pointed up the stairs. "And you, give her a break," Booth said as he turned back to Parker and placed his hands on his shoulders, squeezing as he maneuvered him towards the doorway that led to the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah," Parker replied as he broke from his father's grip, disappearing into the kitchen with Rufus.

Booth and Brennan stood in the hallway. Brennan looked to Booth as she sighed.

"I'm glad she's feeling better," Booth said as he grabbed Brennan by the hand and pulled her closer.

Brennan smiled softly. "Me too. I was so worried last night. I almost took her to the emergency room," Brennan confessed.

"At least it's just an infection. Nothing antibiotics can't cure," Booth said as he looked into her eyes. "What about you?"

Brennan's brow furrowed. "What ABOUT me?" she asked, confused.

"How are you?" he asked, still gazing into her eyes.

"I'm fine, Booth. Just glad she's okay…relief is what I'm feeling," she explained as Booth pulled her into a hug.

They stood in each other's arms for a long few moments, each soaking in the precious time they had alone together.

Booth kissed her on top of the head. "What time is your next class?" he asked.

She sighed. "Not until 6:30," she replied.

"What is the lecture topic tonight, Professor Brennan?" Booth asked as he pulled out of the embrace and looked down at her, a playful smile on his face.

She smiled back. "'The Necessary Tools For An Accurate Ethnography,'" Brennan replied, smiling as she reached her arms up and around Booth's neck.

"Taught by Georgetown University's top professor of Anthropology," Booth said, the smile still glued to his face.

"Ha-ha. I actually have a few exceptionally bright students in the class," she said, her brain switching back to work mode as she began to prepare the lecture in her head.

"Hey…focus back on me. I haven't seen you all day," Booth said as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

She chuckled. "I am…just a lot of stuff on my mind with Emily, and Angela's opening next week. Oh, and Goodman called me today. He wants me to come in and examine some remains," she informed Booth as she dropped her arms from his neck.

"What, Zack couldn't handle it?" Booth asked, frowning slightly.

"Apparently, Zack is busy with Agent Lewiston on a homicide. Plus he's apparently been acting extremely…awkward with his wedding coming up next month," Brennan explained. "Goodman said he wouldn't ask if he wasn't desperate."

"Desperate? He's the man who hired you, he knows how brilliant you are," Booth said, a little offended that Goodman would say such a thing to his wife.

"Don't get all alpha male on me. He didn't mean it like that. And ever since Cam left, he's had a lot to catch up on. Not to mention, he had to hire a new facial artist as well as a new assistant for Zack. Well, I guess Zack hired the assistant. Regardless, it's been a rough 10 months or so," Brennan explained.

"Yeah, and I hear Lewiston and Zack aren't exactly hitting it off," Booth said.

"Just give it some time, Booth," Brennan defended.

"We gave it time with Tanner and look what happened with that. He left the bureau altogether!" Booth exclaimed, now quite worried about the agent and the young doctor.

"Goodman is…working with Zack. Can we not talk about this? Neither one of us even works there anymore," Brennan said, crossing her arms.

"Well, I have to oversee all of it," Booth replied as he sighed. He paused a moment before continuing. "So, are you going to go in then?" he asked.

"Yes. I will lend my expertise where I see fit and Goodman needs me," Brennan explained.

"Okay then. Leave me out of the drama," Booth said as he flung his hands in the air, mocking surrender.

Brennan smiled. "Okay, fine, I will," she replied.

Booth stepped forward and kissed her sweetly. She reciprocated and deepened the kiss, suddenly very aware of the fact that it had been nearly a week since they had made love. They still stood in the entryway, but they acted as though they were in the bedroom. Booth nibbled her lip and she giggled, leaning back as he grasped at her waist.

"Booth, I-"

"Shhh…no talking," he replied, opening his eyes for a moment as he found the route to the computer room and then began to maneuver both of them towards it.

"Emily needs-" Brennan began again.

Booth's lips stopped her mouth. They sidled towards the computer room, now only a mere 10 feet away.

"Mommy!" Emily yelled down the stairs. "Where are you?" she asked.

Brennan and Booth stopped in their tracks and they both opened their eyes.

Booth smiled down at her as he gave her one final kiss.

"Ah…the joys of parenthood," he said, still smirking.

She smiled back. "I'm coming, baby!" she called up the stairs.

"You owe me," Booth said, smiling that seductive smile that transformed her into a puddle of mush.

"Stop that!" she said, pursing her lips as she walked away.

Booth smiled after her and turned for the den where he was sure Parker was watching TV when he should be doing his homework.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 11, 2014~~~~~

"Do we have to go to Wong Foo's?" Parker whined as he poked at his peas with his fork.

"It's already all set up. We've rented the place out. Sid's going to be there," Brennan replied, lifting her fork to her mouth.

"I see Sid all the time," Parker replied as he fell into full-on pout mode.

"Emily wants Wong Foo's and it's HER birthday. Gotta deal with it, bud," Booth told his son as he looked to his daughter, who was also picking at her food. "Hey, missy, eat your food," Booth instructed.

"I'm not hungry," Emily said. "How long 'til my birfday party?" Emily asked as she set her fork down.

"2 days, baby. You remember, it's not your real birthday, just your party, right?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, I get it. My real birfday is the 16th and that's when Angewa's party is," Emily said through a smile as she swung her legs and shifted in her chair.

"Right," Brennan replied, taking a sip of her water.

"Oh, did you find a sitter for the night of the party?" Booth asked.

"I talked to Goodman when I examined the remains and he said he'd talk to Sarah and Samantha," Brennan replied.

"I don't see why I can't babysit my own sister," Parker interjected.

"Not 'til you're 14," Booth replied, pointing over at him.

"Who's gonna be there, Mommy? Are Lila and Miley and Gillian coming? 'Cause they're my BEST friends!" Emily asked, her legs continuing to swing.

"Yes, they are all coming. And guess who else will be there?" Brennan engaged her daughter as she leaned her head towards her and smiled playfully.

"Who?!" Emily asked, enthusiasm bouncing off of her.

"Emma and Haley!" Brennan replied, knowing that this would perk her daughter up.

Emily's eyes went wide. "Awesome! And Unca Russ and Aunt Amy, too?" Emily inquired, hoping that her mother had not left them out.

"Of course, baby. And Uncle Goodman and Sarah and Samantha and Angela and Jack and Davey and Uncle Zack, too," Brennan replied as she reached out and gave Emily a nudge in the ribs.

"That tickles!" Emily said as she giggled. "Cool! This is gonna be the best birfday party EVA!" Emily exclaimed, her interest now completely taken away from her food. "Why can't it be 2 days now?" she inquired, impatiently.

"It'll be here before you know it," Booth said, smiling.

"I don't know if I can wait that long," Emily replied, seriously as she looked to her dad.

"Well, you're going to have to, Em," Brennan replied as she took a bite of her mashed potatoes.

"Fine, geesh!" Emily replied, defiantly as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, no eye rolling," Brennan reminded her daughter.

Emily glared at her.

"Hey Dad? Guess what?" Parker asked suddenly, a smile evident on his face as his mood shifted.

"What, bub?" Booth inquired, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"Hanson Morley broke his leg skateboarding, so he's not trying out!" Parker said, excitedly.

"Hey! You're a shoe-in then!" Booth said as he reached up and high fived his son.

"You two shouldn't be happy over someone getting hurt," Brennan scolded, her brow furrowing in disapproval.

"Yeah, that's not nice," Emily added and looked to her mother for approval, having completely forgotten that she was mad at her.

Brennan smiled at her daughter, who beamed back at her.

"Right, well…we're not happy he's hurt…just that-" Booth began, sheepishly as he saw the stern look on Brennan's face.

"Yeah we are," Parker interrupted.

Brennan frowned. "Parker, you want to be able to try out, right?" Brennan inquired, a severe look on her face.

"Yeah, of course," he responded with a look that said "duh."

"If you continue to enjoy the pain of someone else, then you won't be going to those tryouts next week…guaranteed," Brennan threatened.

Parker's face scrunched. "What? I have to go!" he shot back.

Booth almost interjected, but changed his mind as he had learned all too well not to butt in when Brennan was trying to teach his (their) son a thing or two about morals. Booth figured he had done a pretty good job of teaching him, what with taking him to Sunday school and all. But somehow, Brennan had a way with him…a way to get him to straighten up that Booth hadn't quite figured out. She could always talk to him in such a way that made him understand. It was a hidden talent that had become evident in their second year of marriage when Parker had torn up Brennan's office at the Jeffersonian. At first, she had been fuming, but as she calmed down, she reasoned with him and even at the age of 7, Parker had understood.

"Well, if you HAVE to go, then I suggest that you take back what you said about Hanson Morley. Because if it is a necessity that you go to the tryouts, then that comment will quite obviously keep you from going, seeing as how it isn't helpful," Brennan explained calmly as she looked at Parker.

Parker's brow relaxed and he sat for a few moments in silence. He looked down at his plate of food and picked up his fork, taking a bite of mashed potatoes. As soon as he swallowed, he opened his mouth to speak. "Sorry. I didn't mean it," he said, sincerely as he cast a sideways glance at Brennan.

"Good, then we all can't wait to see you make quarterback," Brennan replied, still looking at Parker, but with a smile this time.

Emily watched all of this with great interest, her big blue eyes wide.

"Parker will be the best kortaback EVA!" Emily exclaimed, giggling.

"Of course he will," Booth replied. "Now, finish your mashed potatoes, missy," he instructed, pointing down at her plate.

"I told you, I'm not hungry, Daddy," Emily explained again.

"You've barely touched anything in the past few days. Eat 3 more bites of potatoes and 2 more bites of chicken and then you can be done," Brennan reasoned with her daughter.

"Ahhh…" Emily whined as she looked at her food with a grimace. "My tummy hurts and I'm not hungry," she said again.

"Emily…" Brennan said sternly.

Emily sighed and pulled herself closer to the table, picked up her fork, and dug into the mashed potatoes.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 13, 2014~~~~~

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Emily! Happy birthday to you!" the group belted. They were gathered around a grouping of tables in the middle of the restaurant, each of them wearing a pink party hat, complete with the traditional Disney Princesses.

Emily's eyes widened as she silently made her wish and practically spit out the candles…all 6 of them in one breath.

"My wish will come true now!" Emily exclaimed as she looked up at her mother.

"Of course it will!" Brennan told her daughter as she kissed her on top of the head. "Okay, cake cutting time. Parker, would you care to help?" Brennan asked, a playful smile on her face.

Ever since their wedding, it had become a tradition for Parker to help cut cake…on ANY occasion.

"Sure," Parker said as he followed Brennan to the bar.

The cake was square and adorned in curls of pink and white frosting that formed into the shape of a unicorn. The words, "Happy Birthday Emily" were scrawled in pink.

Emily laughed and turned her attention to one of her presents, a Barbie jumping horse complete with jump, trophy, brush, saddle, bridle, and doll. Sitting around her were her 3 best friends, Lila, Miley and Gillian. And the rest of the group included: Booth, Angela, Hodgins, Davey, Goodman and his twin daughters, Sarah and Samantha, Russ, Amy and her girls, Emma and Haley, and Zack and his fiancée, Naomi. And Sid rounded out the gang.

"Mommy, I wanna set this up," Emily said as she turned to her mother and held up the Barbie horse box. As her arm shifted, Brennan caught sight of something purple.

"Emily, what is that on your arm?" Brennan asked as she set the knife down on the bar.

"What?" Emily asked, confused.

Brennan stepped over to her daughter and set the Barbie box down as she gently took Emily's arm. She pulled up her sleeve to reveal a silver dollar sized bruise.

"I thought you were going to sit out at recess, Emily. How did you get this bruise?" Brennan inquired, now quite concerned.

"I don't remember, Mommy. It was just there. I did sit out, I pwomise!" Emily said, looking to her mother for approval.

"Okay, baby. You just need to be more careful," Brennan said as she let her arm go. "Why don't you ask Daddy to help you open your present while Mommy and Parker cut the cake, okay?" Brennan replied as she placed a piece of cake on a pink paper plate that said "Princess" on it.

" 'Kay!" Emily exclaimed as she jumped up to get her dad, who was on the other side of the room talking to Russ. "Daddy, you have to help me get the horse out," she informed Booth as she held the box up to him.

"Alright, pumpkin. Let's see here…" Booth said as he sat down in a chair at a nearby table, placing the box on the tabletop.

"You like your gift, Emily?" Russ asked her since Emma and Haley had picked it out.

"Yeah, it's my favewit!" Emily exclaimed as she watched her dad attempt to open the box.

"Good," Russ replied, smiling down at his niece.

Booth continued to struggle with the box. He finally got the cardboard out, to which the horse, doll, and accessories were attached.

"Babe, do we have scissors?" he asked Brennan across the room.

"Amy had them last," Brennan replied as she cut into the last half of the cake.

Having heard her name, Amy appeared with scissors in hand.

"Here ya go," she said as she handed them to Booth.

"Hurry up, Daddy," Emily said as she jumped in place, watching her dad with great interest.

"Hey, Emmy, you can play with your other horse, too!" Haley said as she appeared behind her mother.

"Oh yeah!" Emily exclaimed, suddenly remembering another gift she had received.

"Here it is," Emma said as she appeared with the plastic horse.

"Who gave you this one, Emily?" Haley asked.

"My Grandpa Max. I've never met him 'cause he works somewhere top secret. But he always sends me horse stuff," Emily replied as she continued to dance around. "Come on, Daddy," Emily whined.

Russ and Booth exchanged glances. Emily did not grasp the concept that Russ was "Grandpa Max's" son and that Emma and Haley were his step-granddaughters.

"Give Daddy a minute, okay, pumpkin? Apparently, Daddy isn't smarter than the toy," Booth said as he snipped a piece of plastic that was holding Barbie onto the cardboard.

Russ laughed as he watched Booth basically rip the box apart. He had had his fair share of wrestling with Barbie packaging and he had moved on to MTV, makeup, Teen Magazine, and fashion as Emma was now 16 and Haley, 14.

Meanwhile, over on the other side of the table, Zack and Hodgins were in a heated discussion about the latest case. Seeing as they were two of the three people present who still worked at the Jeffersonian, no one else cared to join in.

At the other end of the table, Goodman was discussing babysitting Emily with Sarah and Samantha. Sarah was busy, but Samantha agreed to watch her, Davey, and Parker on the night of Angela's party.

Seeing that her son was occupied with Emily's 3 friends, Angela meandered over to the bar to see if Brennan needed any help.

"How's it going?" Angela asked, leaning against the bar.

"Fine. Can you open the drinks?" Brennan asked Angela.

"But of course," Angela replied, smiling as she stepped a few feet away and began pulling out jugs of apple juice.

"You need a real drink?" Sid asked Brennan as he appeared behind the bar.

Brennan smiled. "Maybe when the party's over, I'll have a glass of wine. For now, there are 20 people who want cake," Brennan replied, smirking, before turning to the group. "Cake's ready! Serve yourself, but Birthday Girl first!" Brennan announced.

It was a general hubbub of activity as some made their way to the cake (including Emily, who suddenly forgot about her Barbie entirely) while others (Hodgins and Zack) remained in their spots.

"Hey, I thought you wanted this!" Booth said as his daughter bounced away.

"Attention span. It's a bitch," Russ said, smirking.

"Yeah, no joke. She must get that from me since her mother is…overly focused," Booth said as he broke Barbie free of her cardboard prison. "Ha! Got it!" he exclaimed.

Emily reached the cake just as her mother picked up a plate for her.

"Here, this is yours. Sit in your spot," Brennan told her Mexican jumping bean as she set the plate of cake on the table.

"Looks yummy, Mommy!" Emily exclaimed.

"I'm sure it is. You get the first bite," Brennan told her and Emily took the cue and dug in, smearing pink frosting across her lips and chin.

Brennan still didn't quite understand how Emily could get so messy so quickly. She couldn't help but smile at her daughter, who was soon joined by her 3 best friends and Davey.

"Great party, Mom," Angela praised Brennan. "Think mine'll beat this?" she inquired, a quirky grin on her face.

Brennan smiled back. "Your party is going to be huge, Ang…HUGE!" Brennan exclaimed.

Angela smirked as she and Brennan grabbed their own plates of cake and took seats at the bar.

The group continued to talk, shout, laugh, and eat for a while. It was a great party, Brennan thought as she listened to Angela go on about the book premiere party. She was listening, but she was also watching everyone around the room. The 4 teenage girls ended up in one corner discussing…well, everything teenagers girls discuss. Zack had finally been dragged away from Hodgins by Naomi, who had engaged him in a conversation with Russ and Amy. Goodman, Booth, and Sid stood in a small circle, sipping apple juice. Hodgins joined Angela and Brennan at the bar while Parker led the kindergarteners in a game of duck, duck, goose in the far corner of the restaurant. Brennan's mind couldn't help but wander to what she knew best…and that was anthropology. It would have been an interesting anthropology project. Perhaps she would use this as an example for her students; perhaps she would have them create their own subject groups.

Brennan was relaxed for the first time in…God knows how long and she smiled at the sight of all of her friends and loved ones gathered together. A moment after her relaxation had begun, Parker's voice rang out over the crowd.

"Emily's sick!" he yelled as he sprang up from the game of duck, duck, goose.

Booth and Brennan were by her side in a matter of seconds. She was throwing up in a plant by the entryway.

"It's okay, baby, Mommy and Daddy are here," Brennan said as she knelt down and held onto Emily's forehead. Booth knelt next to her as his daughter heaved. Brennan could tell by the touch that Emily had a fever.

Everyone's attention was now on the birthday girl, each of their faces flush with worry.

Emily continued to throw up for the next 25 seconds, at which point she leaned back into her mother's legs, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Just relax, baby, you're just fine now," Brennan said, soothingly as Angela handed Booth a glass of water. "Thanks, Ang."

"Sip on some water, angel," Booth instructed his daughter gently. He tipped the glass towards her mouth and she took a small sip.

"What happened, Em?" Brennan asked only after she saw her daughter's eyes dry and her breathing calm.

"I felt really sick and I couldn't hold it," Emily explained as she took another sip of water.

"How much cake did you eat?" Booth asked.

"I only had a half a piece," Emily replied as she sat up. "I got full."

Brennan looked to Booth, a deep crease in her brow.

"Maybe you had too much fried rice, huh?" Booth suggested.

Emily let out a small whimper. "My tummy really hurts," she said as she clutched her abdomen.

"It's time to go home," Brennan said as she rose from the floor and began to gather their things, explaining to everyone that Emily needed to get home.

Booth and Angela stayed behind to clean up as everyone filed out.

Emma and Haley gave Emily hugs; Sarah and Samantha waved to her and Samantha promised to see her on Tuesday; Zack and Naomi waved; her 3 best friends all gave her hugs, followed closely by Davey, who Hodgins had to practically yank away from the birthday girl.

As Brennan got Emily and Parker to the door, she turned to Booth.

"I'm taking her back to the doctor, I don't think she's over this bug yet," Brennan told him.

"Yeah, good idea. See you at home in a bit," Booth replied and leaned in to kiss her.

She kissed him back and picked up her ailing daughter as she headed for the car and for their pediatrician's emergency phone number.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 16, 2014~~~~~

"Okay, Emily needs to eat before 7 o'clock because she just took her antibiotic. All of our phone numbers are on the fridge and her dinner is ready, you just need to heat it up," Brennan explained to Samantha. She still had reservations about leaving Emily, but she hadn't gotten sick since her birthday party and now that she had a second round of antibiotics, Brennan felt better about leaving her.

"Okay, Dr. Brennan," Samantha replied.

"And here's some money for pizza for you, Davey, and Parker," Brennan said as she handed Samantha a 20 dollar bill.

"Why can't I have pizza, Mommy?" Emily inquired from the couch, where (much to Parker's dismay) she was watching Care Bears with Davey.

"Your stomach is still too sensitive, baby. You have yummy macaroni in the fridge," Brennan explained to her daughter.

"Yum!" Emily exclaimed, suddenly forgetting about the pizza.

"Can I have macaroni too?" Davey asked.

"Sure, Davey, if that's what you want. There's enough for both of them," Brennan informed Samantha.

Booth entered the den a moment later, decked out in a full tuxedo. Brennan wore a royal blue, floor length gown that flowed with every move she made. Her hair was swept up into a French twist and the diamond and blue topaz necklace Booth had bought to win her heart was dazzling on her neck.

"You ready?" Booth asked.

"Yes. Thanks, Sam," she replied, turning to Samantha.

"You're welcome. And you'll be home by midnight?" she inquired.

"Yes. If not sooner. And Mr. and Mrs. Hodgins will be back with us to get Davey. Okay, good night, baby," Brennan said as she stepped over to the couch and opened her arms.

Emily fell into her mother's hug. "G'night, Mommy," she said.

"I love you, Emily," Brennan told her daughter before kissing her on the cheek.

"I love you, too, Mommy," Emily replied, grinning up at her mother.

"Get to bed on time, okay?" Booth said as he too reached down to hug his daughter. "You too, Parker. No later than 9:30, you both have school tomorrow," Booth added.

"Yeah, yeah," Parker replied, patting a sleeping Rufus on the head.

"Remember, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call. The numbers are-" Brennan began.

"On the fridge. I think she got it, Mom," Parker replied as he nearly rolled his eyes.

"Fine, smart guy. Good night," she said again as she and Booth made their way out of the house and into their BMW.

Brennan had a wrinkle in her brow and Booth could see that she was deep in thought. He knew that face far too well.

"What's wrong?" he inquired as he started the engine and pulled out of the garage.

Brennan sighed. "I'm just…worried about her," she confessed.

"She's okay. Like the doctor said, it was probably too early for her to have such rich food. She was a sick puppy last week," Booth soothed.

"Puppy?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Look, her little stomach couldn't handle everything. You heard what he said. She's been doing fine on the new antibiotics. She'll be back to herself by the weekend," Booth continued.

"I know," was all Brennan could say as she looked out the window.

"Now, how about we relax and have a fun night celebrating Angela's success, huh?" Booth said as he smiled.

Brennan turned to him and broke a soft smile. "Sounds good," she replied.

The furrow in her brow disappeared, but the worry in her mind lingered like a bad cold.

************************************************************************

"Ladies and gentleman, I would like to present to you…the wonderful…the beautiful…and the talented…Angela Montenegro," Brennan spoke into a microphone on a small stage. The crowd before her erupted into applause as Angela made her way to the microphone. She squeezed Brennan tightly for a long few moments.

"Thank you, sweetie," Angela whispered as she kissed Brennan on the cheek.

"Anything for you, Ang," Brennan replied and stepped away to give Angela the spotlight.

"Wow. Thank you all for coming. I just want to say, for the record, that none of this was my idea. I owe all of this to my wonderful husband, Dr. Jack Hodgins. He's standing over there and out of the spotlight," Angela said as she pointed to her left. "But he is the brains behind all of this. And so is my son, David. He was actually the inspiration for this series and he was the one who got me to write every day. I wish he could be here, but it's way past his bedtime," Angela continued and the crowd laughed.

Brennan stood by Hodgins as Angela launched into a detailed description of her book. A few moments passed and suddenly, a wave of uneasiness overtook Brennan's body and mind. Her smile faded, her stomach dropped, and she felt faint. Something wasn't right. Even though she had never been one for intuition, her motherly instincts had never failed her…and this was no exception. A minute after it hit, her cell phone vibrated in her evening bag. She stepped away from Hodgins and from the crowd and pulled it out. The word "Home" flashed across the screen and Brennan's heart sank to her stomach. She punched the send button.

"What's wrong?" she asked, frowning deeply.

"It's Emily, Mom! She just started…shaking. We can't get her to stop! And her eyes are…oh, it's so scary! Her lips are…blue. She just fell over and-" Parker cried into the phone, his voice quivering.

"Is she still shaking?" Brennan asked, the crease in her brow deeper than ever.

"Yes! Oh my God, what's wrong with her?" Parker cried.

"Parker, call 911. Dad and I are on our way," Brennan told him. She could hear Davey crying in the background and Samantha trying to calm him down.

"You'll be here soon, right?" Parker asked.

"Yes, we'll be right there. Call 911, Parker, and then call me back," Brennan repeated.

"Okay," Parker replied, shakily.

She punched the end button as she made her way to Booth, who was standing amongst the crowd about 20 yards away.

He saw her coming and he knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Parker just called. Emily is…I think she's seizing," Brennan informed him, her voice trembling.

"Seizing?! What do you mean?" Booth barked, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as every muscle in his body grew tight with anxiety.

"I don't know! He's calling 911, we need to go," Brennan said urgently.

"Oh God. I'll get the car," Booth replied as he whirled around and jogged, nearly sprinted, to the valet.

Brennan looked to Angela, who was nearing the end of her speech.

"So, thank you all again and please enjoy the food, the wine, and the cocktails!" she finished and the crowd applauded. She looked out among the pack of people and found Brennan. Her giant Angela smile vanished immediately and she made her way off of the stage.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked, concern blanketing her face. Hodgins joined them a moment later.

"Emily's seizing. We have to go," Brennan informed them, tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh my God. We'll get Davey and meet you at the hospital. You're going to Georgetown, right?" Angela asked, suddenly sick to her stomach.

"Yes, but you don't have to-" Brennan began.

"Don't even start, we're right behind you," Angela responded as she gave Brennan a hug.

"Booth's got the car," Hodgins said as he pointed back towards the front of the building.

Brennan left without saying another word, the tears now falling and the pit in her stomach rising to her throat. Dr. Temperance Brennan had never been more worried in her entire life.

************************************************************************

Booth and Brennan pulled into the driveway 14 minutes later. An ambulance was parked in the front and a red Chevy Tahoe hybrid was parked along the street next to Samantha's silver Prius. As Booth put the car in park, Brennan jumped out and jogged (heels and all) through the open front door with Booth closely behind her. No one was in the entryway, but they both heard Davey crying from the direction of the den.

Goodman was standing in the kitchen with Samantha clinging to him. He did not say anything as the parents glanced at them and continued into the den, where Davey sat on the couch, a paramedic sitting next to him and trying to get him to stop crying. Parker was standing next to the other paramedic, who was strapping Emily onto a stretcher. The pit in Brennan's stomach rose again as she saw her daughter lying on the stretcher, an oxygen mask over her face. She wasn't moving.

"What is her condition?" Brennan asked the paramedic as she reached out to grab Emily's limp hand. Parker stepped forward and hugged her, tears in his eyes. Brennan wrapped one arm around him while grasping to Emily's with her other.

"She is unconscious, ma'am. We do believe that she had a seizure. She is stable enough to transport," the paramedic replied.

"She just fell to the floor…and her arms and legs got stiff and she stopped breathing. Mom, is she gonna be okay?" Parker asked as he looked up to Brennan, his arms still around her waist.

"I don't know, Parker. Do you think it was a tonic-clonic seizure?" Brennan asked the paramedic as she tried to remain calm enough to assess her daughter's condition. This was proving to be quite difficult as she could feel the tingling sensation in her chest about to explode with anxiety.

"Yes, it seems likely given the description of symptoms your son provided us," the paramedic replied.

Booth stepped forward as Parker reached to give him a hug.

"It's okay, bud, she's being taken care of," Booth told Parker as he looked at Emily, whose lips looked blue. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her it was all going to be okay.

"We're ready to move," the paramedic said as he took hold of the top of the stretcher and began rolling it out of the room.

A moment later, Angela and Hodgins walked through the doorway.

"Mama!" Davey cried and got up to run to her, but Angela was faster and had him scooped up in a second. She dried his eyes. "Emwy is sick, Mama."

"I know, baby boy," Angela replied, turning to Booth and Brennan.

"You go with her. Parker and I will follow," Booth told Brennan as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Okay," Brennan replied, barely above a whisper.

Booth leaned in and kissed her on the forehead as he squeezed her shoulders.

She turned and looked at Angela and Hodgins. Angela telepathically told her she loved her and Brennan turned to follow the paramedic out of the room.

"We're right behind you, Booth," Angela said as she rubbed Davey's back. He had stopped crying, but was still sniffling.

"Okay, thanks," Booth replied, shakily. His mind was reeling as he tried to form a coherent thought. What to do next? He turned to Parker. "Go get some clothes to sleep in, bud. And grab Emily's Care Bear and blankey. And hurry," he told his son.

Parker nodded and turned for the set of stairs that led from the den up to their bedrooms. Rufus rose from his spot on the floor and followed Parker up the stairs.

Goodman and Samantha appeared in the den.

"Booth, is there anything I can do to help?" Goodman offered.

Booth looked to him and his daughter. "Would you all mind taking Rufus? We'll probably be gone all night," Booth replied.

"Of course. Are you sure that's all?" Goodman asked, eager to do anything he possibly could for the Booth family.

"Pray," Booth responded, his face solemn.

Goodman nodded slightly as he looked into Booth's eyes, his heart going out to him and Brennan.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Booth. It all happened so fast," Samantha told him as she choked back tears.

"It's okay, Sam. You did everything you could do. NONE of this is your fault, okay?" Booth reassured her as he could see that she was quite worried.

Samantha nodded in response.

Booth proceeded to pace the den as Angela, Hodgins, and the Goodmans watched. He didn't even know what to think, he was so distraught.

"Is Emwy gonna be okay?" Davey asked his mother, sniffling again.

Angela looked at her son. "I don't know, sweetie. The doctors are going to try to find out what's wrong so they can fix her," Angela told him as she continued to rub his back.

"I hope they fix her fast," Davey said as he looked into his mother's eyes.

"Me too, sweetheart," Angela said as she kissed the top of his head.

"Okay, ready," Parker replied as he and Rufus reappeared in the den.

"Come on, Rufus. Here boy!" Sam called to the dog as she knelt down.

Rufus glanced up at his master through droopy eyes as if to ask if he was allowed to go to Samantha.

Parker patted him on the butt. "Go on, boy," he said as he gently pushed him in Samantha's direction.

Samantha grabbed him by the collar and patted him on the head as she and her father started out of the den.

"Alright, let's go," Booth said, grabbing Parker by the shoulders and ushering all of them out as he sighed, unable to believe this was happening.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Brennan grasped onto Emily's hand, stroking her knuckles as the ambulance sirens blared. She stared down into her daughter's face, which was splotched with dried tears. A lone tear trickled down Brennan's cheek.

"Don't worry, baby, Mommy's here," Brennan whispered as she swept Emily's waves of auburn off of her forehead.

The paramedic continued to monitor Emily…her blood pressure and pulse were taken every 30 seconds.

Brennan held onto Emily's hand for dear life as she closed her eyes, gently pulling her daughter's hand to her lips. A few moments passed as Brennan began to form a prayer in her head. She had never prayed before and she still didn't believe in God, but at this moment, she thought it was worth a shot. As the first words, "Dear God" formed in her brain, she felt a squeeze. Her eyes flew open and darted down to Emily just in time to see her spring up on the stretcher, a loud cry emitting from her mouth.

"Shhh…baby, it's okay. You're going to be okay," Brennan said as she pulled Emily to her chest, wrapping her arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

Emily pulled the oxygen mask off as tears started streaming.

"Mommy! Mommy! Where am I?" Emily cried, nearly choking on her sobs.

"Sweetheart, you're going to the hospital, but I am right here with you," Brennan soothed as she rubbed her daughter's shoulders.

"Her heart rate is elevated," the paramedic mentioned.

"She just had a major trauma, of course her heart rate is elevated," Brennan snapped, glaring at him.

"I was just…we'll be there in a minute," he replied, avoiding eye contact for fear of being killed by Brennan's daggers.

"I feel sick, Mommy…I'm scared!" Emily cried as she grasped for her mother's neck, wanting to be closer.

Brennan leaned down so Emily could wrap her arms around her neck.

"I know, baby. I'm here and you're fine. Everything is alright," Brennan reassured her daughter, but she was unable to completely believe it herself.

Within the next minute, the ambulance came to a stop and the siren was silenced.

"Why'd we stop?" Emily asked, her tears slowing.

"We're at the hospital so the doctors can fix you," Brennan explained as she pulled away and looked her daughter in the eyes.

"Where's Daddy? And Parker?" Emily asked, still crying a bit.

"They are right behind us," Brennan replied.

"She needs to be lying down so we can roll her out," the paramedic explained, glancing quickly at Brennan.

"Sweetheart, lie down so this man can help you, okay?" Brennan instructed Emily.

Still sniffling, Emily obeyed and the other paramedic appeared to help unload the stretcher.

Brennan released her hand from Emily's for a moment, but Emily sprang up on the stretcher and cried out.

"Don't let go, Mommy!" she said.

Brennan quickly grabbed Emily's hand again.

"Okay, baby, I won't," she promised.

Booth and Parker appeared as they all made their way through the ambulance bay doors.

"Hi, pumpkin," Booth said as soon as he saw that she was awake.

"Daddy!" Emily exclaimed as Booth joined Brennan's side, stepping in pace with the paramedics.

They made their way to the ER doors, at which point the paramedic informed them that only 2 family members were allowed to go any further. Parker stayed back as Angela, Hodgins, and Davey walked in. Emily was rolled to a curtained area where a doctor met them.

"I'm Dr. Wasson. Looks like we had a seizure, huh, Emily?" Dr. Wasson asked, a cheery tone in his voice.

"What's a seezur?" Emily asked, still holding her mother's hand.

Dr. Wasson smiled at Emily. "It's when you go to sleep for a little bit, but you don't mean to," he explained simply, smiling.

Emily looked up to her mother. "Is that true, Mommy?" she asked, clenching Brennan's hand tighter.

Brennan's first instinct was to jump into the actual definition, but she quickly realized that this would not help her 6 year old daughter.

"Yes, baby, that's right," Brennan said reassuringly.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs….Booth? We need to run some tests, including CBC, CT scan, and an EEG," Dr. Wasson informed them, glancing at Emily's chart to get the last name.

"What does all that mean?" Emily asked, curiously as she looked up at her mother again.

"It's stuff that will tell us why you're sick so we can make you better," Booth explained as he smiled. Emily looked to him and nodded.

"It should only be a minute and we'll get her situated for the CT," Dr. Wasson explained before jotting something on Emily's chart and sauntering off.

"He seems far too cavalier," Brennan told Booth as soon as Dr. Wasson was gone.

"He's probably just trying to be…upbeat for Emily's sake," Booth suggested.

A split second later, Emily shot up in the bed.

"AHHHH!!!!!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks once again.

Booth and Brennan leaned down on either side of Emily, each of them grabbing onto one of her arms.

"Mommy!!! Daddy!!! Where am I? I'm…scared…what…happened? Am…I sick?" Emily continued to cry as she grasped both of her parents' hands.

"We're right here, Emily; Mommy and Daddy are here, okay? You're okay," Brennan soothed, holding onto her left hand and pulling her head into her chest as she sat on the bed next to her. Brennan looked over to Booth. "She's postictal," Brennan informed him.

"AHHHHH!!!!! Mommy, what's…wr-wrong with m-me?" Emily asked as she let go of Booth's hand and wrapped her arms around her mother. "D-Daddy? Where'd you go?" Emily asked frantically, completely unaware of the fact that he had just been holding her hand.

"I'm right here, pumpkin. I'm with you and Mommy," Booth replied as he made his way to Brennan's side of the bed and placed a hand on Emily's arm. He shot Brennan a look of confusion.

"Baby girl, you're going to be fine. It's okay to cry. Just let Mommy and Daddy take care of you. We love you, Emily," Brennan said as she slowly rocked Emily back and forth.

"I…wuv…you…too," Emily sniffled into her mother's chest as she snuggled in closer.

Brennan looked to Booth, who was still looking puzzled.

"It's normal with seizures," she whispered to him.

"What? A seezur? Wh-what's that?" Emily inquired, not realizing she had already asked the question.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it's nothing to worry about. Just calm down and listen to Mommy's voice," Brennan replied as she stroked her daughter's hair, rocking her gently as she met Booth's eyes.

She didn't have to say a word; he could see that she was terrified because he was too.

"Am I in the…hospotal?" Emily asked, her voice faint as she became sleepy.

"Yes, baby, you are. But don't think about that, think about happy things…it's your birthday today! You're a big 6 year old now and just think about all the fun you're going to have with all of your new toys. And when we get home, you can open your extra special present that Mommy and Daddy got you," Brennan said, soothing Emily to the point that her sobs quieted to a sniffle and her breathing returned to normal.

"You're such a brave girl, pumpkin," Booth added, smiling as he watched Brennan work her magic. He was always amazed at how she took to being a mother…and this was no exception.

"I-I am?" Emily asked, raising her head to look at her father.

"Yes, you are. Just relax and you can even go to sleep if you want to, okay?" Booth told her as he stroked her cheek.

Emily's eyes drooped. "O-okay," she replied, sleepily.

Booth looked to Brennan as Emily dozed off in her mother's arms.

A few moments later, Dr. Wasson reappeared.

"All set for the CT," he whispered after seeing that Emily was asleep.

Brennan lowered Emily gently to the bed and then looked to Booth. They stood for a few moments, their eyes glued to one another's, each knowing exactly what the other was thinking. *What is wrong with our daughter?*


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"Were you scared?" Parker asked, his eyes wide as he looked at Emily, who was lying in a hospital bed, dressed in a designer polka dot gown.

"Nope. I wasn't scared at all," Emily replied, folding her arms across her chest and smiling devilishly.

"Were too," Parker retorted as he glared at his sister.

"Was not!" Emily fired back.

"Okay, you've ridiculed your sister enough. How 'bout you get some sleep now?" Booth intervened as he grabbed Parker by the shoulder and pushed him towards the bathroom in Emily's room.

"Yeah, yeah," Parker replied and shut the bathroom door behind him, overnight bag in hand.

Emily had only slept for a mere 15 minutes before being wheeled into the CT scan, where Brennan had stood with her and talked her through the 45 minute test. She had then had blood drawn, commenting that "it tickles" when the needle had gone in. Finally, an EEG had been performed with both Booth and Brennan standing right by her side. She had been a trooper through all of it, more curious to know what was going on than she was afraid of what might be wrong with her.

"Where's Mommy?" Emily asked her father.

"She's telling Aunt Angela and Uncle Jack and Davey good night," Booth said as he placed a pink Care Bear with a rainbow on its stomach on the bed next to his daughter.

She grabbed it and cuddled close. It was a bit difficult seeing as how there was an IV in her arm.

"Daddy?" Emily said suddenly as she looked at Booth with those sparkling blue eyes that were so entirely Brennan.

"Yeah, pumpkin?" Booth asked, leaning his right arm against the top of the hospital bed and looking down at his daughter.

"Why am I sick?" Emily asked, simply, those eyes gazing up at Booth with a plea for an answer that he could not give her.

Booth hesitated for a moment as Emily's eyes bore holes in him. As he was about to answer, the door opened and Brennan appeared.

"Hodgins had to practically drag Angela out and Davey's fast asleep," Brennan told Booth as she walked to the other side of Emily's bed and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "And you should be asleep, too, baby," she informed her daughter, who looked like she could go for a romp in the sandbox with all of the other kids.

"I'm not tired," Emily replied, squeezing her Care Bear tighter.

Parker reappeared, fully dressed in Spiderman pajamas.

"It's past 1 in the morning and you have had a hard day, Emily. You need to sleep," Brennan told her daughter.

"But I don't wanna! I wanna know why I'm sick!" Emily exclaimed, nearly yelling as she folded her arms across her chest again, Brennanesque style.

"Baby, the doctors are trying to figure that out right now. You know, you could go to sleep now and then by the time you wake up, the doctors will know why you're sick," Brennan attempted to bargain with her 6 year old daughter. Occasionally, she found this quite difficult as Emily seemed to be far more intelligent than an average 6 year old. This was not unexpected as her mother's IQ was well above average.

Emily frowned, hugging her Care Bear tight.

"Why'd they have to stick stuff to my head and tell me to bwink and to rowl my eyes? That was weird," Emily asked as she avoided her mother's proposal.

"Those were what are called electrodes. They can read your brain waves," Brennan explained to Emily as she sat on the side of the bed and brushed her child's unruly hair out of her eyes…which she seemed to have to do on a regular basis.

"Brain waves? You mean, they talked to my brain?" Emily asked, her eyes wide with wonder at the thought of something being able to actually speak to her brain.

"Yeah, they had a whole conversation with your brain," Brennan replied with a smile. Seeing that this new bit of information was drawing her daughter's attention, she decided to rub the top of Emily's head, a trick that had always put her to sleep as a baby.

"What do you think they said to my brain?" Emily asked, her eyes drooping slightly as her grip on the Care Bear loosened a bit.

"They probably said 'stop attacking Emily so she can feel better,'" Parker chimed in, smiling at his little sister.

"Really, Parker? You think I'll feel better now?" Emily asked. Brennan's hand brushed against her head ever so slightly and the Care Bear nearly fell from her arms, but she caught it and jerked slightly to keep from falling asleep.

"Yup, I think so," Parker replied as he smiled once more.

Booth smiled at his son as Parker's eyes met his. Brennan looked at the two boys and also smiled. This was a precious family moment and she didn't want it to end because she feared it might be one of the last for a while.

"Okay," Emily said, her eyes fluttering as she tried to stay awake.

"Good night, Emmy," Parker whispered, knowing that his sister was about to lose the battle with sleep.

"Night, Park-" Emily began, but she was out, her right hand in her mother's and her left on her Care Bear.

Brennan kissed her forehead again and placed her hand on the bed.

"Alright, bed time," Booth told Parker and pointed to the cot they had had brought in for him.

"Where are you two going to sleep?" Parker inquired, looking at his parents who were still fully clothed in tuxedo and evening gown.

"We won't be sleeping much tonight," Brennan replied.

Parker lowered his eyes and nodded in comprehension.

"Good night," he said as he hugged his dad.

"Get some sleep, bud," Booth said as he patted Parker's back.

As Parker turned to hug Brennan, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Brennan said softly.

Dr. Wasson appeared.

"Mr. and Mrs. Booth, we have some of Emily's test results in," he said, unflinching.

Booth and Brennan exchanged glances.

"Get in bed, Parker. Keep an eye on Emily, okay?" Booth instructed.

"But I wanna know what's wrong with Emily," Parker resisted.

"We'll tell you, Parker, but right now, the doctor needs to talk to both of us and we need you to watch Emily," Brennan replied, placing a hand on Parker's shoulder.

Parker looked between Brennan, Booth, and the doctor and dropped his shoulders.

"Alright," he said and then turned for the cot.

Booth and Brennan turned to Dr. Wasson, who opened the door to usher them out. They looked to each other, both sighing in anticipation of what they were about to hear.

************************************************************************

Dr. Wasson led Booth and Brennan across the hall to the empty waiting room. He sat in a chair and the parents followed suit.

"The results of the CBC show an abnormally large amount of white blood cells in your daughter's blood," Dr. Wasson began. "The CT scan showed an enlarged spleen and stomach as well as swelling around the middle of Emily's spinal cord."

"What does that mean?" Booth asked as he clenched his jaw and awaited the doctor's explanation.

"Are you thinking it could be leukemia?" Brennan asked outright, glaring at Dr. Wasson. Booth's head spun towards his wife and then over to the doctor. He wasn't quite sure he had heard correctly…leukemia?

"It is a possibility given these results, yes. The EEG results are not in yet, but the seizure Emily experienced would indicate that it has spread to her central nervous system," Dr. Wasson explained as he looked between both parents. "There are more tests to be done, like a bone marrow aspiration, to be 100% certain. She will probably need to have her spleen removed, however."

Booth's heart stopped…at least that's how it felt. Every part of him froze, except for his right hand, which found its way to Brennan's left and squeezed.

"Then the next step is to find an oncologist," Brennan replied, her eyes darting to Booth for a second as she returned the squeeze.

"Yes, that's the other thing I wanted to tell you. Our top oncologist should be here-"

The door opened and a tall, slightly rotund man walked in.

"Ah, here he is," Dr. Wasson exclaimed as he jumped from his seat to greet the man.

"This is Dr. Thomas Nyland, head of oncology here at Georgetown," Dr. Wasson initiated the introductions.

Both Booth and Brennan rose from their seats.

"Pleasure to meet you both," Dr. Nyland said as he shook Booth's hand.

"Thank you, doctor," Booth said, glancing over at Brennan, who looked like she could kill someone.

"I'm sorry, but we'll be going to Johns Hopkins, thank you," Brennan replied curtly. "I would like to get her transferred as soon as possible so we can get the bone marrow aspiration done quickly," Brennan continued, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

"Bones, what are you talking about?" Booth asked his wife, now quite confused.

"It's in the top three in the nation for pediatrics and cancer. I want Emily to go there," Brennan replied.

"We don't even know for sure if she has cancer. I mean, you said there are more tests to be done, right?" Booth asked as he turned to Dr. Wasson, fear in his eyes.

"Why do you think he's bringing in an oncologist, Booth?" Brennan asked him.

For this, he had no answer. She was right. His jaw clenched once again and he conceded.

"Mr. and Mrs. Booth, I can assure you that Dr. Nyland is-" Dr. Wasson began.

"With all due respect, this has nothing to do with the expertise of Dr. Nyland. I want Emily to get the very best and I know she will at Johns Hopkins," Brennan replied, nodding to Dr. Nyland at the mention of his name.

"Mrs. Booth-" Dr. Wasson began again.

"Actually, it's DOCTOR Brennan and I would like for you to get her transfer organized," Brennan interrupted and she turned to leave.

"Well…Dr. Brennan, Johns Hopkins IS one of the best, but there aren't any spaces available in their childhood cancer center," Dr. Nyland tried to explain.

"Trust me, there will be after I get off the phone," Brennan replied, her eyes knife-like as she glanced one last time at the doctors before turning on her heel and exiting the waiting room.

Booth stood for a moment with the doctors staring at him and then he left as well. Brennan was about to open Emily's door when Booth caught her.

"Are you sure about this?" Booth asked her as he stopped just outside Emily's room.

"I know the chief of surgery. He can get her in tomorrow," Brennan informed Booth.

"Okay, good then," he replied, his hands on his hips.

Brennan turned the handle to Emily's room door, but Booth's hand stopped her. She looked to him.

"Is this…really happening? I mean, is this for sure? Our…Emily has…leukemia? Maybe they messed up with the tests. Shouldn't we have them do them again?" Booth asked Brennan, his voice quivering and his eyes darting around. He couldn't believe that a 6 year old little girl…HIS little girl…could have something so terrible.

Brennan's face softened for the first time since hearing the news. She had immediately gone into doctor/scientist mode and wanted to find the fastest way to make her daughter better.

"Actually, it makes sense, Booth. She's been fighting an infection, she's been bruising to the touch, she's vomited, she hasn't wanted to eat anything, and she's been bleeding easily," Brennan explained before closing her eyes for a few moments, silently kicking herself for not realizing it sooner. "These are all signs of childhood leukemia. I just didn't put it together; I thought she was just playing hard at school and sick from the cake because every kid gets sick, right? I mean, she's just a little girl, she's supposed to get bumps and bruises and…" Brennan's voice heightened in the middle of her rant and then trailed off as Booth pulled her into his arms. She sighed as a pair of tears fell from her eyes.

"Whatever you think we need to do, we'll do," Booth said as he squeezed her gently.

Brennan pulled out of the embrace, her eyes glistening.

"I need to get on the phone to Johns Hopkins. There are more tests to be done and I want them done there," Brennan replied.

"Alright, then let's do it," Booth said as he gave her an encouraging look.

They both turned for the hospital room, each of their hearts breaking inside.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Brennan was right. After one phone call, Emily had a room awaiting her arrival at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. The top oncologist for childhood leukemia would be meeting with the entire family at 10 o'clock.

It was now 5:16 in the morning and Emily was thankfully still sleeping soundly, as was Parker. Brennan slouched in the hospital room chair, her eyes fixated on Emily, who was lying on her right side, Care Bear nestled closely between her arms. Her mouth lay half open, an indication to Brennan that she was in a deep sleep. *Thank God* Brennan thought to herself. The ethereal reference didn't even register. She had taken her hair down and it lay messily about her shoulders. She had also removed her necklace, but she subconsciously traced her right index finger across her sternum as though playing with the pendant. She was also barefoot as her 2 inch heels had become unbearably uncomfortable hours ago. She sighed loudly.

A moment later, the door opened quietly and Booth walked in and stopped next to his wife, laying a hand on her shoulder and squeezing.

"Everything is set. They will discharge her before 8, so we should have plenty of time to make it up to Baltimore. I've called you in sick. The TA will take over," Booth whispered as he looked down at Brennan, whose eyes still hadn't left Emily. "I'll run by the house and get us a change of clothes," he added.

Brennan was in a daze. She had heard every word Booth had said, but it hadn't really processed in her brain.

"Temperance?" Booth said after nearly a minute had passed. His touch was soft on her shoulder once again as he began to rub her neck.

Suddenly, Brennan's Blackberry began vibrating on the nearby table. Booth stepped over and grabbed it, checking the caller ID before handing it to her.

"It's Angela," Booth said as Brennan took the phone.

She stood, her evening gown hanging from her shoulders and wrinkling against her skin. She glanced at Booth, who gave her one final squeeze on the neck before she left the room.

"Hi, Ang," Brennan said as the door closed behind her.

He watched her go and then looked to his son and then to his daughter. He had been awake for nearly 24 hours and would probably be awake for another 24, but he didn't care. His mind was racing in a million different directions and he was trying to sort out his thoughts. The top priority was obvious: get Emily the best medical treatment possible…and they were doing that. But as they waited for her to be released from Georgetown and transferred to Johns Hopkins, his mind wandered to the worst possible scenario: *our little girl could die. At age 6, our beautiful, creative, bubbly, and "spunky" little girl could leave this earth far too early.* The tension in his body had been building and it was reaching its boiling point. *NO! Dammit! This isn't fair!* His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed and he punched the wall with his right hand, his knuckles cracking audibly at the sudden trauma. He almost didn't feel it…it was like a dullness, a sensation that wasn't really there…numb. That was the word that summed it up.

He drew back his hand and subconsciously rubbed it as he stepped towards Emily's bed and kissed her on her temple. She shifted slightly, but she didn't wake up.

A moment later, Brennan reappeared and set the phone back on the table.

"Angela is going to bring our clothes and Emily's present. She said she'd tell Ms. Stinson that Emily is sick. She should be here in a little bit," Brennan informed Booth, her voice tired and raspy. "I thought I'd let them sleep as long as possible," Brennan whispered, gesturing to Parker and Emily with her head.

Booth's muscle began to loosen in his temple and his hand began to throb and he continued to rub it, sure to keep it out of Brennan's view.

"Rufus, no…" Emily whispered suddenly as she shifted from her side to her back.

Booth and Brennan's attention shot to their daughter, who was still fast asleep. Clearly, she was dreaming and both parents' heart rates returned to normal once they realized this.

"Maybe we should step out," Booth suggested.

"We said one of us would always be here to watch her," Brennan countered.

"We need to talk about this before we wake them up, which is going to be soon," Booth said gently.

Brennan considered this for a moment and as much as she didn't want to leave Emily's side, she knew that they needed to discuss exactly how they were going to break the news to their kids.

She sighed deeply. "Alright."

Once they reached the waiting room, Booth collapsed into one of the chairs. Brennan remained standing, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes fixed on her husband. He raised his eyes to meet hers and they gazed intently at each other for a long few moments, both of them trying to put all of this into perspective…and both of them failing miserably.

"How are we…what do we say to her?" Booth asked the question of the year. "I mean, how do you tell a 6 year old she's sick with something that she probably can't even understand?" he added, frowning as his eyes darted across Brennan's face, hoping and praying she would have the answer.

Brennan wore a pained expression, one that was becoming all too familiar to both her and to Booth.

"She's incredibly bright for her age. I think she'll understand it more than we might think," Brennan replied as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her knees cracking as she moved.

"Yeah, but…what do we actually SAY? And Parker? Should we wait until after the aspiration is done? Or should we tell both of them now? Should we tell them together or apart? With the doctor? Without? What do we do?!" Booth questioned, his voice rising steadily with fear and uncertainty.

"We don't have all of the tests done, so we don't know everything yet. Right now, all she needs to know is that she's sick and that the doctors are going to make her better. And we have to be sure that she knows that she can talk to us about anything she is feeling. When Angela gets here, maybe you could tell Parker? That way he at least knows what's going on when we tell Emily," Brennan said, calmly…a little too calmly for her liking. "I've seen how this can affect families, but I have never known the patient to be a child," Brennan replied, sighing loudly.

"Yeah, I can explain things to Parker," Booth agreed.

"Okay, then we will all talk as a family…she just needs to know that Mommy and Daddy will always be there for her," Brennan added, her voice and bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.

Booth's anxiety eased for a few moments as Brennan spoke…and a thought occurred to him that he hadn't been able to access quite yet due to the brain fog that had followed "the news."

"Maybe I could talk to Cullen," Booth suggested, glancing up at Brennan. "Amy was older when she was diagnosed, but maybe he might have some thoughts." He didn't want to think for another instant that Emily could die, but Cullen was the only person they knew who had experienced the exact same thing the two of them were going through at this very minute.

"I don't even want to think about that," Brennan replied, closing her eyes and shaking her head for a moment. It was too painful. Amy hadn't made it…and she could not bear to think that Emily wouldn't either. Emily would beat this.

"I know…" Booth began, but his voice trailed off as the thought evaporated.

Brennan dropped her arms and walked the few feet to Booth, knelt down, and placed her hands on his knees. She brushed the tops of his legs as she looked into his eyes. He stared at her, his breathing steadying at the look in her eyes.

"We're her parents. We'll find the right words," Brennan said, simply, even though she knew it was anything but.

Booth placed his hands on the tops of hers and leaned his head down to touch her forehead. They both closed their eyes, resting their heads against one another as the rise and fall of their chests fell into rhythm and their hands interlocked. They sat in that position for a long while, each of them listening to the other's breathing…each of them trying to gather the strength they would need for the challenge that lay ahead.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

"Hey, buddy. Psst. Wake up," Booth whispered to his son, shaking him gently.

Parker's eyes squinted and he glanced up at his dad. He blinked a few times and brushed his blonde ringlets out of his eyes.

"Wh-what's going on? Is Emily okay?" Parker asked, groggily.

"Yeah. She's still sleeping and you and I need to talk. We need to step out so we don't wake Em up," Booth explained.

"What time is it?" Parker asked as he sat up on the cot.

"Almost 6. Mom is out talking to Angela," Booth whispered. "Get dressed quick, kay?"

5 minutes later, the Booth boys were sitting across from Emily's door in 2 chairs they had pulled out of the waiting room.

"What's up, Dad?" Parker asked, now fully alert.

Booth looked to his son and leaned his elbows on his knees, his hands folded in front of him. He glanced down at the floor before looking back to Parker.

Parker stared at his dad. "It's bad, isn't it?" He asked. But he knew.

"Yeah, bud," Booth replied, his face somber.

"What is it?" Parker asked.

"Emily has leukemia. You know what that is, right?" Booth replied.

"Yeah. Cancer," Parker responded, a gloomy tone in his voice.

"The doctors still have to do more tests, but we have to go to Baltimore. We're leaving here soon. School's not open yet, but I am going to call you in sick. We all need to be together right now," Booth explained.

"Yeah, I wanna be with her right now," Parker replied.

Booth smiled. "I know you wanted to make it to football tryouts, but I'll talk to the coach, 'kay?" Booth said.

"Yeah, okay," Parker replied. He did really want to make it to tryouts, but after seeing Emily have that seizure, his mind was almost completely focused on her. And if taking care of her meant missing football tryouts, then so be it.

Father and son sat for a few moments in silence. Booth watched Parker tap his foot on the ground, his gaze fixed on his own lap. He knew Parker needed to process the information. Hell, HE was still processing the information. So, he didn't say anything. They just sat…until Parker spoke.

"Is Emily…is she gonna die?" Parker asked, worry spreading across his face.

Booth couldn't answer at first. "The doctors are going to do everything they can and we are getting her the best treatment out there. She's going to have to take medicine every day and she might get really sick from it," Booth continued to explain.

"Like chemotherapy?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, bud. Exactly. And we all have to help her through all of it. I know you'll be good at that 'cause you're such a great big brother," Booth replied, smiling softly at his son.

Parker was silent for a few moments. He glanced down at the floor and then back at his father.

"Why does God do this?" Parker asked, a large frown overtaking his face.

"I don't know, Park," was all Booth could say…because he had already pushed the same thought out of his mind more than a dozen times.

"I mean, it's not fair. She's…little and…smart and just…why would he do that? She doesn't deserve it!" Parker exclaimed. He could feel the water rise behind his eyes.

"Park, bud, I know. God doesn't do this on purpose. He presents us with many challenges in life and this-" Booth began to explain, but couldn't finish.

"But it's not fair! Why can't he give cancer to some old guy somewhere? Why does it have to be Emily?! What did she ever do to Him?" Parker exclaimed, the tears spilling onto his cheeks as he stood from his chair.

Booth regarded his son for a moment and he stood and clasped his hand on Parker's shoulder.

"Hey, hey. I know this is hard-" Booth couldn't finish again.

"Yeah, it is and it's just not fair!" Parker exclaimed, his fists clenching tightly as his fingernails dug into his palms.

Booth squeezed Parker's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

"We are all together on this, okay? I know it's not fair, but we have to help Emily fight this. We have to help her win," Booth said, his eyes never leaving his son's.

Parker glanced away from his dad, his fists still balled up and tears still running down his cheeks. He felt like kicking something.

"It's okay to be mad," Booth told him. "I already punched the wall," he added, his face severe.

Parker's attention snapped quickly back to his father's. He hadn't expected that, but he knew that his dad was telling the truth. As he looked in his dad's eyes, his tears began to slow and his breathing calmed. He released the tension in his fists and brushed the palms of his hands with his fingertips, feeling the indentations his nails had made. A moment later, he brushed his cheeks.

"Okay, I'm ready to help her fight," Parker finally replied.

Booth let out his breath and pulled Parker into a hug. Moments passed as father and son stood in each other's embrace, both praying for God to make this right.

************************************************************************

"Thanks, Ang," Brennan said as the two women grabbed plastic coffee cups and filled them with the brown liquid that would get them through the day. They each took a seat in the waiting room.

"Have you talked to Russ yet?" Angela asked as she took a sip of the watery excuse for coffee.

"No. I'll call him after we see the oncologist. Haley was sick again yesterday, so he has his own ailing child to take care of," Brennan responded and she took a sip as well.

"Is there anything else you need? I can get Parker's homework from school and I can talk to Goodman and go and get Rufus…anything, just say it," Angela said as she reached for Brennan's hand and squeezed. A tear trickled out of her left eye.

Brennan managed a small smile. Angela truly was the best friend a girl could ask for.

"I know, Angela. You are the best," Brennan replied.

After a few moments, Angela released her grip on Brennan and brushed away her tear.

She sighed. "What are you going to tell her?" she inquired.

Brennan paused for a moment. "That she's sick and the doctors are going to make her better. Because that's the truth," she replied, simply once again.

"And Booth is talking to Parker right now?" Angela asked, rhetorically, because she knew full well that he was doing so. She just needed something to say to keep from breaking down into tears.

Brennan knew this, but she nodded and after another few moments, she reached forward and embraced Angela.

"We are going to get through this. Please don't worry about me, Ang," Brennan said as she hugged.

A pair of tears spilled onto Angela's cheeks and she pulled out of the embrace.

"Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen," she said as she wiped the water away.

Brennan pursed her lips ever so slightly.

"Well, at least try to worry…less?" she replied in a questioning tone as if it would convince her best friend.

Angela glared at her and both women knew that Brennan was asking the impossible. As the realization sunk in, Angela leaned her head on Brennan's shoulder and sighed, placing her left hand on Brennan's right.

They sat together in silence for a long while …Brennan thinking about the move to Johns Hopkins and about what she and Booth would say to their daughter. She knew they would find the right words, but it was difficult, nonetheless. It was difficult to actually SAY the words because saying them out loud to Emily meant admitting that this was the truth…and THAT was what scared Brennan to death. She kept her mind from wandering to the "what if," but it was allowed entrance to the "how will she handle this" area. Brennan imagined Emily throwing up and Emily losing her hair and Emily asking why she wasn't getting better. *But she WILL get better!* Brennan shouted at herself. *Focus on getting her better* Her mind finally set its course on determination.

Angela felt Brennan's muscle tense a bit and she knew that she must be scared out of her mind…even if she wasn't willing to admit it. Her heart ached for her best friend and she couldn't imagine how she would react if Davey were in this situation. And then she thought about how DAVEY was going to react to Emily's sickness. At least he was still young enough not to completely understand it. Angela thought about Parker. He was old enough to understand and this was his sister. It was going to be hard on him, Angela already knew. She and Hodgins would need to spend extra time with him. But Bren? *What about Bren?* Angela thought. She knew she was strong, *but dear God, is she THIS strong?* she asked herself. And another tear came to her eye. Before it was able to escape, Brennan broke the silence.

"Booth and I should probably go wake Emily up. Angela, thank you for bringing all of our stuff," Brennan said as she rose from the chair.

"Will you quit thanking me? What am I, the hired help?" Angela retorted, standing next to Brennan.

Brennan would have rolled her eyes had it been any other situation.

"I'll call you later," Brennan informed Angela as she started out of the room.

"Okay, sweetie. I love you," Angela said and she stole one last hug.

"I love you, too," Brennan replied, closing her eyes as she squeezed.

"Tell Booth I love him, too, okay?" Angela said.

"Of course. Talk to you in a little bit," Brennan replied.

Angela smiled softly and blew Brennan a kiss as she turned left to follow the hallway to the exit.

Brennan watched her go and stood for a long few moments…thinking. About everything she had already thought about and she would think about again in the days, weeks, and months to come.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

"Am I gonna die?" Emily asked, looking up to her parents, both of whom sat on the edges of her bed.

"No, pumpkin, of course not," Booth answered quickly, smiling as he squeezed his daughter's shoulder. He was now free of the tuxedo and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Brennan wore jeans and a cotton, long sleeved shirt.

Brennan cast a sideways glance at him, not certain that he should have said that since they could make no promises.

"Is the medicine gonna be ickier than my cold medicine?" Emily asked, clearly quite concerned about the "ickiness" level.

"It will be different, baby. Some medicine, you'll swallow, but most of it will be given to you through your veins just like right now with the needle in your arm," Brennan explained as her finger traced the IV all the way up to the bag hanging above Emily's head.

Emily's gaze followed her mother's finger up to the bag.

"So, I won't be able to taste it?" Emily inquired, looking back to her mother.

"Nope. Not at all," Brennan replied, smiling softly at her daughter.

Emily considered this for a few moments, her eyes narrowed slightly as her brain took in the information.

"Well, that's good 'cause Parker, you were right, it didn't really taste like cherry," Emily replied, shaking her head and looking at her brother with wide eyes.

"Told ya," Parker replied, smiling brightly. He and his dad had had a good talk and he understood what was going on and although he was scared, he wasn't about to let his sister see his fear. She was particularly good at noticing things like that, so this was proving to be a difficult task for him.

"So, I have to have another test, but I'll be asleep for it?" Emily asked, wanting to make sure she had all of the details straight after her parents had told her about the bone marrow aspiration. Of course, they hadn't used those words.

"Yeah, pumpkin, you won't remember a thing. You'll just go to sleep for a little bit and when you wake up, you'll get lots of pudding and popsicles. How does that sound?" Booth replied, smiling hugely as he reached forward and tapped Emily on the nose.

She smiled. "That sounds yummy," she replied.

This was going well…as Brennan had expected due to their daughter's above average intelligence. She seemed to understand things in a way none of her friends did. Prior to Emily entering kindergarten, Brennan had considered getting her IQ tested, but Booth had convinced her to wait, saying "we can wait a few years to find out she really is a genius." The hard part was yet to come. It would be an entirely different story when Emily was throwing up from the chemo; when she was losing her hair; when she had to miss school so much; when her friends were wondering what was going on; when Emily started asking when she was going to get better. All of those things would come in stride, but Brennan could already see it all. She couldn't help it, her mind just raced with the thoughts of the impact Emily's illness would eventually have on her. The anxiety gripped onto her chest and her heart felt like a small animal caught in a fur trap. She tried to live in the moment…and at this moment, her Emily was smiling and laughing as Parker told a joke. But what would happen in the moment that her Emily was so exhausted from the treatment that she was crying from the pain? What would she do then? There would be no smiling and no laughing…only anguish. Brennan could take it and she knew her Emily was strong. But this was a whole different story…this was something entirely new…to each of them. They would make it through as a family, but what if Emily didn't make it? *NO! Stop it! She WILL make it!*

"Ah, the whole family is here," Dr. Wasson appeared in the doorway, shattering Brennan's thoughts into a million pieces.

Nervously, she glanced over at him.

"I have just signed off on Emily's chart. The nurse should be in in a minute to remove the IV and then you all are free to go," Dr. Wasson explained, smiling softly.

"Thank you, Dr. Wasson. We appreciate everything," Booth said as he stood to shake hands with the young doctor.

"Hope you feel better soon, Emily," Dr. Wasson said, his smile widening.

"Thanks, docta. Me, too," she replied.

"And good luck at Johns Hopkins," he said, nodding his head slightly at Brennan.

"Thank you," Brennan replied, her face soft but full of worry.

Dr. Wasson nodded once more and left the family to themselves.

"Pumpkin, you want to open your special present now?" Booth asked Emily, smiling brightly.

"Yeah!" Emily said as her eyes lit up.

"Alright, Mommy has it," Booth said, looking to Brennan, who had just snapped out of her reverie.

"Here it is, baby," Brennan replied as she grabbed the present from the table and stood next to Booth, handing the pink and purple wrapped gift to her daughter.

It was thin and square shaped and almost looked like a large, padded envelope, aside from the wrapping.

"What is it?" Emily asked, scrunching her nose as she shook the gift.

"Open it, silly!" Parker instructed, still smiling at his sister.

Emily tore into the paper and 5 seconds later, she had it open. Her expression shifted to one of confusion.

"What is it?" she asked, holding up the pink envelope.

"Keep opening," Parker instructed again.

Booth and Brennan stole a glance from each other, their faces more solemn than excited. They had wanted this moment to be really special and they had wanted Emily to truly be able to enjoy her gift. Now, they didn't know if she possibly could.

Emily ripped open the envelope and pulled out its belongings: a card in the shape of a horse. The horse was a brown color and had an English saddle on its back and a bridle on its head. It also wore a giant smile, revealing huge teeth. It read: "We Love You, Emily. Love, Mom, Dad, & Parker."

Emily laughed and then began to read, "We...Lo-love...you, Emily. Love, Mom, Dad, and...Par-par-k-ker," she said, beaming up at her parents. She had started reading at the end of pre-school and was ahead of all of her classmates.

Emily smiled. Then, after another moment, her expression changed back to confusion. "But how is this my gift?" she asked, perplexed.

Brennan smiled. "We couldn't really wrap up a horse, baby, so we gave you that card. You start horseback riding lessons next week!" Brennan explained, smiling widely as she reached down and tickled Emily.

Emily laughed and playfully batted her mother's hand away. "Really?! I'm gonna ride horsies?!" Emily asked, looking to both of her parents, her blue eyes wide and sparkling.

"That's right, angel. A little pony named Roxie can't wait to meet you," Booth told her, leaning down and tapping her on the nose.

"Cool! That's the best birfday present EVA!" Emily exclaimed as she bounced in the bed.

"Careful, baby," Brennan said as she reached for Emily's IV arm and pressed against it, trying to calm down her vivacious daughter.

Emily stopped bouncing and grinned up at her parents.

"Thank you, Mommy and Daddy," she said as she brushed her curls away from her face. "And you too, Parker," she added, turning to look at her brother.

"You're welcome, Emmy," Parker replied as he reached forward and gave Emily a hug.

Booth and Brennan glanced at each other once more, their smiles fading ever so slightly. This had been their baby's dream…to ride horses. They had found a horse trainer who could start teaching Emily and they had set up a lesson for her. And now they had no idea if she was going to be able to do it.

Apparently, Emily was thinking along the same lines. As she pulled out of Parker's embrace, her face wrinkled again.

"But wait. If I'm sick, can I still ride Roxie?" Emily asked, clearly concerned.

Another glance at each other and then Booth spoke.

"How about we see how you're feeling next week, alright, pumpkin? And if you don't feel like it, then you can ride her later," Booth bargained with her.

Emily thought about this for a moment.

"Okay. I hope I feel TONS betta though," Emily replied, hopefully, her eyes widening in a dramatic fashion.

"We do too, sweetheart," Booth replied. He leaned in and kissed Emily on her forehead. "We do, too."


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

Dr. Michelle Caldwell walked into room 427, where she was greeted by a man, a woman, a boy, and a little girl. She smiled and focused her attention on the little girl.

"You…must be Emily," Dr. Caldwell said as she extended her arm towards Emily, who was sitting on the hospital bed.

Emily looked to her parents and after seeing them smiling, she took Dr. Caldwell's hand and shook it vigorously.

"That's some grip you've got there. You're tough, aren't you?" Dr. Caldwell asked, winking and smiling.

"Yup!" Emily exclaimed. "Are you the docta that's gonna stick a needle in me so you can look at my bone mawwow?" Emily asked, a curious and skeptical look in her eye.

Dr. Caldwell smiled again. "Aren't you a smart one? Yup, that's me. But you'll be asleep, so you won't feel a thing," she replied.

"Yeah, Mommy told me that. Mommy's a docta, too, but she doesn't work at a hospotal," Emily explained.

"Is that so? And you must be Mommy," Dr. Caldwell replied, turning to Brennan and offering her a hand.

"Yes and this is my husband, Seeley and our son, Parker," Brennan said after taking the doctor's hand.

Dr. Caldwell exchanged pleasantries with Booth and Parker and quickly set her attention back on Emily.

"Alright, Emily. Since you know so much about your special test, how 'bout we get you ready for it? You have an extra cool gown to wear," Dr. Caldwell told Emily with a smile.

"Really? I get to dress up for my test?" Emily inquired, looking quite puzzled.

"Yup. The gown is right over there in the cabinet," Dr. Caldwell informed her and pointed across the room to a cabinet and dresser.

"'Kay! Mommy, can I go get it?" Emily asked.

"Daddy will get it for you," Booth replied and he strode across the room to grab the "extra cool" hospital gown.

"What time is the test taking place?" Brennan asked Dr. Caldwell.

"She is scheduled for 11:30. We'll get her down there by 11," Dr. Caldwell replied.

"Hey, look at this, Em! It's got unicorns on it!" Booth exclaimed, sitting on the edge of the bed and handing the gown to Emily.

"Cool! And it's hot pink!" Emily exclaimed, clearly quite thrilled with her new wardrobe item.

Brennan smiled down at them. "Em, why don't you and Daddy work on getting you dressed for the test while the doctor and I go talk? Sound good?" Brennan asked her daughter.

"Yeah, Mommy. Sounds good!" Emily replied, her eyes sparkling as they always did.

"Okay. We'll be back soon," Brennan said as she looked at Booth, who gave her a knowing look.

"See you in a little bit, Emily," Dr. Caldwell said, waving.

Emily waved right back. "Okay, docta-docta…wait, what's your name?" Emily asked.

"You can call me Michelle," she replied.

"'Kay, Michelle," Emily replied as she picked up the gown to inspect it further.

The two doctors let the door close behind them as they stepped into the hallway.

"What do you think given the test results?" Brennan asked her, not wanting to waste any time.

"As I am sure Georgetown told you, she has an elevated number of white blood cells. These are specifically gathering around her spleen, which most likely means that her spleen will have to be removed. The aspiration will tell us definitively. We wouldn't want to perform an unnecessary surgery, especially a splenectomy since the spleen is a vital part of the immune system," Dr. Caldwell explained, very calmly and matter-of-factly. "And the EEG results confirm that she had a tonic-clonic seizure, although it didn't take a doctor to figure that out. It has most likely spread to her central nervous system, although without the remaining tests, we cannot know for sure."

Brennan knew all of this. "Where does that put us?" she asked, her brain wanting a prognosis, even though she knew it would take time.

Dr. Caldwell regarded Brennan for a moment. She was savvy and she could see that Brennan meant business and she wasn't going to settle for just knowing the basics. This was not going to be a typical "parent" case. After all, she was a doctor herself.

"You want me to be straight with you, am I correct, Dr. Brennan?" she asked, her eyes unwavering as she looked at Brennan.

"Yes, 100%," Brennan replied, her gaze unfaltering.

"I would like to do a physical exam to see just how enlarged her spleen is, but she will need her spleen removed tonight or tomorrow morning. That means she will need to be on a higher dose of antibiotics to fight off infection. The seizure tells me that the CNS is involved and that means a more aggressive treatment plan, which we need to begin as soon as possible. I cannot say whether she has AML or ALL, however, given her current state, my guess would be T-cell ALL. We will have all of the results in this afternoon," Dr. Caldwell explained.

Brennan listened intently, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes steadied on the oncologist. Brennan knew some about leukemia and what she did know was that if both the spleen AND the central nervous system were infected, the prognosis was not good. Her heart wrenched inside her chest and the tingling began creeping down her arms and to her fingers where it burst in her palms, desperately wanting to break free.

"I don't know much about leukemia, I'm an anthropologist. But I do know that once the CNS is affected, the outlook isn't good," Brennan blurted, not realizing what she was saying until she had actually said it.

"Generally, that's true. But it all depends on the patient. Her blood count, her age, her general health, her race, her leukemia subtype, her chromosomes…her attitude. Dr. Brennan, I know this is frightening. But I also know that a good doctor doesn't jump to a conclusion and I intend on treating Emily's cancer with the assumption that she is going to beat it. I can tell she's one tough cookie. And that helps…A LOT," Dr. Caldwell replied, her voice calm as she broke a small smile.

Aside from the cookie comment, Brennan understood what Dr. Caldwell was saying: fight like hell. And that is what she planned to do. Brennan looked into the doctor's eyes and found determination. Reassured, she sighed and shifted her jaw.

"Alright, then let's get started with the tests," Brennan replied and she turned for Emily's room.

Just as her hand hit the doorknob, the door flew open and Booth nearly knocked Brennan over.

"She's seizing again!" Booth exclaimed, his face as white as a ghost.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

They stood to one side of Emily's bed, each of their faces swollen with tears and their eyes encircled with dark rings. As for the patient, she was sound asleep, having undergone the bone marrow aspiration as well as treatment for her seizure. It was somewhere around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, although neither Booth nor Brennan could be sure at this point. Angela had come to pick Parker up. She would be taking him to football tryouts and he would be spending the night with the Hodgins family.

"The leukemia is mimicking a tumor in the anterior falx. We need to begin treatment immediately, but first, her spleen must be removed. I've booked an OR. We'll be ready to go in less than 10 minutes. I will be right back," Dr. Caldwell explained quickly to both Booth and Brennan before swooping out of the room.

"What does that mean?" Booth asked his wife, his hands on his hips and his eyes filled with fear.

Brennan sighed. "It's like a tumor, but not. The leukemia is making the brain think that it has a tumor and it is reacting accordingly," she explained, scientifically and once again jumping into doctor mode.

Booth just stared at her in disbelief. "Yeah, but what does that mean?!" he bellowed as he threw his right hand in the air. His knuckles had begun turning purple from the blow to the wall.

Brennan's eyes went wide for a second as she leaned her head back. And in that instant, she caught sight of Booth's hand.

"What did you do to your hand?" she asked forcefully as she leaned in to examine it.

"Nothing, I'm fine," he replied as he pulled his hand away before she could get to it.

"What did you do, punch a wall?" Brennan asked as she reached forward again and got hold of the battered hand.

Booth glared at her for a few moments.

"That certainly isn't constructive," she offered. "You need ice."

"I'll be fine. What about Emily? What does all of this mean?" he replied, jerking his hand away again and returning to the present.

Brennan sighed, deciding that arguing with her husband over his way of dealing with the anguish was not going to help anything.

"Her brain is overreacting to the foreign cells that are attacking it," she explained in laymen's terms.

"Does that mean she's getting sicker?" Booth asked, shifting from one foot to the other as he stared into his wife's eyes.

"No, it just means that…it's worse than they originally thought. It's more complicated now," Brennan explained, her voice beginning to quiver ever so slightly. She remained in doctor mode, but was teetering on the edge between doctor and scared mother.

"Why couldn't they have figured that out already? Huh? They're doctors, they heal people, dammit!" Booth exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air and swiped one across his face.

"It doesn't mean that she won't get better. They just need to get her spleen removed and start treatment. We can't panic, she needs us. This doesn't mean we're going to lose her, Booth," Brennan replied, attempting to look him straight in the eyes as he shifted his weight nervously.

"Then what in the hell _does_ it mean?!" he barked at her, his jaw clenched tightly and the muscle in his temple jumping.

"It means she needs treatment…and fast. It means that she will need more chemo more often. It means that her brain isn't functioning properly. It means that she'll probably develop more neurological symptoms like slurring of speech and tremors unless they can treat it properly. It means she is sick…so sick that she will probably need a bone marrow transplant to save her!" Brennan spat in a stream of consciousness, her eyes drowning.

Booth froze in his place as he watched her slowly lose control of her emotions. His heart broke once more for the woman he loved…and for the daughter they adored.

As he stepped forward to wrap her up, Dr. Caldwell reappeared.

"We're all set. We've got to get her in there now. It shouldn't take longer than an hour," Dr. Caldwell explained as a male and female nurse began to wheel Emily out of the room. "She'll be in recovery for an hour and you can see her there."

Booth nodded as he pulled a still crying Brennan to his side. He bent down and kissed Emily on the forehead.

"Be strong, pumpkin," he whispered in her ear.

Brennan turned to Emily, tears streaming. She bent down and placed a hand on her forehead, brushing her curls away.

"We love you, baby. Mommy and Daddy are right here," Brennan cried.

Dr. Caldwell looked a thought at Booth and he gave Brennan a gentle squeeze in response. She kissed Emily on the forehead and brushed her cheek before standing upright again. She dropped her head to his shoulder as the team left with Emily. He grasped onto her with his right arm as she sobbed and sunk deeper into his chest.

"She's just a little girl…she's OUR baby, our Emily," Brennan sputtered into Booth's chest, her eyes squeezing shut and tears spilling out.

He wrapped both arms around her and squeezed as tightly as he could.

"I know…I know," was all he could say.

"I'm scared, Booth…I'm so scared," Brennan cried as she released her grip on him. She pulled at his t-shirt, her fingers curled into claws. The tears overflowed as the kaleidoscopes of her eyes danced frantically across his face.

"I know…I am too," Booth replied, a tear escaping his left eye. He placed both hands on her cheeks and rubbed her temples gently.

A few moments passed and she fell into his arms as a second wave of sobs overtook her body. This time, instead of holding her up, he let the two of them fall to the ground. Neither of them felt the sting of the floor beneath their knees. All they felt was each other's hearts breaking into a million pieces…and they feared that the pieces could never be put back together again.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

Brennan's breathing had finally calmed. Her head lay on Booth's left shoulder, his head tilted slightly to rest on hers as he stroked her hair. They were still sitting on the floor, both leaning against the couch in Emily's room. Booth's legs lay out in front of him while Brennan's were bent and were resting on top of his thighs. She brought her left hand to her face and wiped her cheek. How long had it been? Neither one of them knew. They sat…listening to each other's breathing and silently asking the other for strength.

Brennan closed her eyes and drew in a long, deep breath. As she let it out, Booth kissed the top of her head.

"She's in recovery. The surgery went well," Dr. Caldwell appeared in the doorway.

Booth and Brennan got to their feet, Booth slightly embarrassed and Brennan not caring in the least.

"Do you have any test results in yet?" Brennan inquired.

"I'm going to go check right now," Dr. Caldwell replied.

"Can we see her?" Booth asked.

"Of course," Dr. Caldwell replied with a soft smile. "She won't be awake for another half hour or so. She's had a lot of anesthesia today, so she'll need to take it easy."

With that, she was gone. Booth and Brennan looked to each other and made their way to the recovery room.

Emily's face looked swollen to Brennan. The first thing she did was brush her cheek, as though Mommy's touch would make everything better…*oh, if only* She pulled up a chair and Booth followed suit. Taking Emily's left hand in hers, Brennan squeezed gently and bowed her head. Tears streamed easily as Brennan formed the words in her head. And then she held her daughter's hand between both of hers, raising it as she closed her eyes and spoke aloud:

"Dear God…I know…I know I've never believed. B-but that doesn't matter right now. Please…please…heal our baby," Brennan pleaded, the wide rivers of her eyes overflowing. Booth watched and listened intently and then he leaned his head in and placed his hands on top of his wife's and his daughter's. And he too closed his eyes.

They sat in silence for a long while. Brennan hoped for a miracle. Even though she knew it was scientifically impossible, she didn't care. She was desperate and she wanted God to heal Emily right here, right now. Science didn't matter. Tests didn't matter. All that mattered was their Emily's health and happiness.

A soft clearing of a throat interrupted the family prayer. Booth and Brennan both looked to the doorway to see Russ leaning against the doorframe.

Brennan sprang to her feet and threw her arms around her brother.

"Angela called me," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm glad you're here," Brennan replied, pulling away as another pair of tears spilled onto her cheeks. "But what about Haley?" she added.

"She's out of the hospital and breathing on her own again. Amy demanded that I come. Her sister is helping her out," Russ explained.

"Emily will love to see you," Brennan told him.

Russ rubbed her shoulder. "I am so sorry, Tempe. What do the doctors say?" he asked.

"She needs aggressive treatment. They haven't said it, but I think she'll need a bone marrow or a stem cell transplant," Brennan replied as she wiped her cheeks.

"Do you think one of us could be a match?" Russ asked.

"It's possible. We need to wait for these test results before we start talking about that," Brennan replied.

On cue, Dr. Caldwell reappeared in the doorway, clipboard in hand.

"A new face," she said upon seeing Russ.

"Russ Brennan. I'm Emily's uncle," he replied and shook her hand.

"Michelle Caldwell," she replied and quickly turned to Brennan and Booth. "Results are in. Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL."

Faces were blank. Brennan had been studying up, but she hadn't yet heard of this type of leukemia.

"What is that?" Booth asked.

"It is rather rare in children with leukemia and even rarer in a child of Emily's age. Normally, it is seen in adolescents. But Emily fits this subtype and we need to begin treatment immediately. The first 48 hours of treatment are critical," Dr. Caldwell explained.

"Oh God," Russ said as he looked away from the doctor and over at Emily.

"This changes the prognosis, doesn't it?" Brennan asked, hoping that Dr. Caldwell would say no…but she knew.

"It's more complicated now, but it just means that the treatment is adjusted accordingly. I was going to wait until morning before starting her induction therapy. With the splenectomy, her immune system is weak, but we need to begin as soon as she comes out of recovery," Dr. Caldwell replied. "I am going to start her on high powered antibiotics immediately," she added after seeing the pained looks on the faces standing before her.

Brennan looked over at Emily and her heart wrenched.

"How long will induction take?" Brennan inquired.

"With lower risk ALL, it takes nearly a month. But with Ph1, the drugs are in higher doses, so it will take approximately 12 days. If she goes into remission, then we will assess her status for a bone marrow or stem cell transplant," Dr. Caldwell continued.

Russ and Booth both looked to Brennan. She was right. Somehow, she just knew that that's what it would take. Booth stepped towards Brennan and took her hand.

"Aggressive treatment and fast," Brennan voiced her one coherent thought.

"Exactly," Dr. Caldwell replied.

"When will she be awake?" Booth asked.

"She should be waking up soon," Dr. Caldwell replied. "I'll see you back in her room to begin induction," she added before pausing a moment and then disappearing into the hallway.

Booth began pacing the small recovery room, his eyes darting between his daughter, his wife, and his brother-in-law.

"Tempe, I didn't know it was this bad," Russ said, looking his sister straight in the eyes.

"Neither did we," Booth said as he paced.

Brennan sighed. "If they can destroy the cancer cells quickly, then her risk will go down and her prognosis will improve. Unfortunately, the cancer is attacking her CNS," Brennan replied, looking between her husband and brother.

"What's a CNS?" Russ asked.

"Central nervous system. Brain and spinal cord mainly," Brennan explained, switching back to doctor mode.

"That's why she had the seizures?" Russ asked.

"Yes," Brennan replied.

"Jesus, Tempe," Russ said as he sighed, his hands on his hips.

Silence fell over them for a few seconds until…

"Daddy? Mommy?" Emily whispered. Her eyes fluttered open and Booth and Brennan were by her side in a millisecond.

"Look who's awake. Hi there, pumpkin," Booth said, smiling genuinely at his ailing daughter as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Hi, baby. You made it through the test and everything is just fine," Brennan explained, intentionally leaving out the surgery. "And look, Uncle Russ is here," Brennan added, smiling as she turned to her brother.

"Unca Wuss?" Emily questioned as her eyes attempted to focus on him.

"Hey there, princess," he said, leaning down to tap her gently on the nose.

She blinked a few more times before speaking again. "Daddy? Where's my popsica?" she asked.

Booth and Brennan smiled. Her memory hadn't been affected, that was for sure. Daddy had promise her popsicles and pudding and that's what she was going to get.

"What flavor do you want?" Booth asked.

"Gwape, pwease," Emily replied, her voice raspy.

"1 gwape popsicle coming right up," Booth said, smiling down at her as he stood upright and left the room on a mission to find his daughter the best grape popsicle Johns Hopkins had to offer.


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

The next 36 hours were perhaps the most draining 36 hours of Temperance Brennan's life. In the past, she had been kidnapped (multiple times), shot at, nearly blown up, and buried alive and not one of those instances measured up to the anxiety she was feeling right now at this very minute…NOT ONE. Because at least she had had some sort of control over those situations. Right now, she had absolutely NO control and Temperance Brennan was not used to that…and it was beginning to drive her mad.

Apparently, her stomach was in agreement because as she sat in a chair close to Emily's bed, a wave of nausea overcame her. A few seconds passed and she shot up from the chair, jogged the 10 feet to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet.

Booth's eyes jumped from his book to his wife and he met her in the bathroom after hearing the heaving subside.

"Are you okay?" he whispered as he squeezed her shoulder.

Brennan turned on the faucet, cupped her hands under the water, and splashed her face.

"I-I just felt sick. I'm fine. It's probably from not eating," she whispered in response. She grabbed a paper towel and patted her face dry, gazing at herself in the mirror…the red eyes, the dark circles.

"You have got to sleep. I took a 2 hour nap today; I'll stay awake with her. Please, babe…please sleep," Booth pleaded as he swiveled her to face him, his hands planted firmly on her shoulders.

"I can't. Even if I try, I won't be able to," she replied as she sighed.

"Temperance. Do it for me," he replied, staring her straight in the eyes.

Brennan considered this for a moment. She had only slept approximately 45 minutes over the past 48 hours and it was starting to take its toll. Now she was throwing up from God knows what and she finally decided that it was worth a shot.

"Fine. But I can't guarantee anything," she said as she folded her arms across her chest.

Booth smiled softly as they returned to the room. He walked to the cot where Parker was sleeping and shook him gently, whispering something that Brennan did not hear. Parker dragged himself over to the couch and flopped down on it. Booth brought the extra blanket and pillow over to him and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out again. Parker had always been a deep sleeper and this was no exception.

"You didn't have to make him move," Brennan whispered as she slipped her shoes off.

"You know he won't even remember," Booth replied as he fixed the sheets of the cot so Brennan could get in.

Brennan looked over at Emily, who lay on her back with her mouth half open.

"I hope she doesn't lose her hair," Brennan said suddenly.

Booth watched her gaze at their daughter.

The treatment had been successful so far and the cancer cells were being affected, but there was still a long road ahead. 11 more days and they would get an updated prognosis.

"If she does, she'll still be just as beautiful," Booth replied, stepping forward to take Brennan's hand.

She grasped his hand as he led her to the cot.

"Bed," he said, his eyebrows raised. He patted the cot as he sat on the edge of it.

She followed his instructions, although she didn't see how she could possibly sleep. She got under the covers and Booth pulled them up and tucked her in just as he did with Emily on a nightly basis.

"Angela will be here in a couple of hours and Russ will be back tonight," Brennan informed Booth, even though he already knew.

"I was there when Russ told you and when you talked to Angela. See, you need sleep," Booth said as he moved to get up from the cot.

Her hand stopped him. "Get in bed with me?" she asked, her eyes glistening.

He smiled softly. "Of course," he replied and squeezed her hand before bending down to take off his shoes.

He walked to the other side of the cot and slipped under the covers. She rotated to face him. He reached his right arm around her midsection and his fingers traced lightly down her back. She placed her left hand on his face and softly stroked his cheek. Their gaze locked onto one another's.

"I've missed this," she whispered.

"Me too," he replied as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"She's starting to get tired," Brennan said, her eyes drooping ever so slightly.

Booth looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"She was exhausted after the chemo today. It's starting to affect her," Brennan replied. "She said 'scrool' today instead of 'school.' She's slurring," Brennan added.

"I know, I noticed too," Booth replied, returning his hand to her back.

"I told Dr. Caldwell. She says the slurring should disappear in a few days if the treatment is working. We need to-"

Booth's lips cut her off. Surprised, but grateful, she sunk into the kiss. He was warm and his lips were rough.

He pulled away after a few moments.

"She's sleeping and she's fine right now. YOU need to sleep. Okay?" Booth said softly to her.

She attempted to protest for the length of a millisecond and then thought better of it. He was right. Emily was fine at this moment and she had to remind herself to live in the moment. And also at this moment, she was exhausted. Her eyes drooped and her hand lay still on Booth's neck.

"Okay," she said, sighing as she closed her eyes.

Booth continued to scratch her back as he pressed his lips to the tip of her nose and then to her forehead. When he pulled his head back to look at her, she was asleep.

His fingers returned to their dance across her back and she blew air into his face. He smiled ever so softly and he said a silent prayer of thanks.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

A swishing sound stirred Brennan from her dream. Swish. Swish. Brennan's eyes fluttered open and she squinted at the sun streaming in through the window. Swish. For a few moments, she had no idea where she was and the swishing wasn't helping her figure it out. She shifted from her stomach to her right side and forced her eyes open. Swish. Then it all came back to her. She shot up on the cot and checked her watch. 10:43. She had slept for 4 hours. Swish. Swish.

"Mommy, you're up," Emily said from her bed.

Brennan's gaze darted to her daughter, who was sitting upright on the bed, holding something in her hands.

"What do you have there, baby?" Brennan inquired as she rose from the cot and walked to the bed.

"It's a cool gwitter water thing that Davey got me," Emily explained. "It sounds like the ocean, can you hear it?" she asked, raising the plastic water globe filled with pink, purple, blue, and silver glitter.

Brennan took hold of it and shook it. Swish. Swish. The colors fluttered and the swishing did indeed sound a bit like the ocean. It was soothing.

"That is cool," Brennan said as she handed her daughter the globe. "Where is Davey?" she added, suddenly realizing that she and Emily were the only two in the room.

"They went to get bweckfast. And Daddy is talking to Michelle," Emily explained as she shook the globe. Swish. Swish. "Daddy told me not to wake you up."

Brennan smiled at the thoughtfulness of her daughter.

"Well, thank you. How do you feel, baby?" Brennan asked as she sat on the edge of Emily's bed, reaching her arm forward to rub Emily's cheek.

"Kinda icky, but Davey made me feel better," Emily replied, her eyes gazing up at her mother.

"Does your tummy hurt? Do you feel sick?" Brennan asked.

"A little bit. That's why Aunt Angewa is getting me pancakes," Emily replied as a smile broke out across her pale face.

Brennan smiled back. "We love Aunt Angela, don't we?" she said.

Emily nodded. "Yes, we do," she replied, smiling again.

Brennan was about to ask Emily if she was ready for her treatment, but a wave of nausea hit her smack in the stomach and she had to run to make it to the toilet.

"Mommy?!" Emily squealed.

Brennan heard her daughter, but she couldn't respond…she was too busy throwing up.

At that moment, Angela, Davey, and Parker appeared with two trays filled with food.

"Aunt Angewa, Mommy's sick!" Emily cried and pointed to the bathroom.

Angela set the tray on the table. "Davey, go over by Emily, okay honey?" Angela instructed her son.

He did as he was told while Parker went to set his tray on the table.

"Mom?" he said, trying to see into the bathroom.

Angela walked through the door to see Brennan flushing the toilet.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Angela asked as she reached for paper towels. She turned the faucet on and ran them under cold water.

"I think I have a stomach bug. I threw up earlier this morning," Brennan replied as she stood and took the towels from Angela. "Thanks," she said, wiping her mouth and then her face.

"Are you sure?" Angela asked, concern clearly evident on her face.

"I shouldn't be around Emily right now if I'm contagious," Brennan said.

"Mommy?" Emily's voice echoed.

"I'm okay, baby," Brennan said as she and Angela reentered the room.

"Are you sick, Mommy?" Emily asked.

"I think so. Baby, I'm going to go find Daddy and Michelle and see if I can get some medicine. I don't want to get you sick," Brennan explained to her daughter.

"Okay, but tell Michelle to give you big medicine like I'm getting 'cause it'll make you betta fast," Emily instructed her mother, nodding her head.

Brennan couldn't help but smile. "I will, I promise. I'll be back," Brennan replied.

"Mom, you AND Emily can't be sick," Parker blurted without thinking.

"The doctas are making me betta and they'll make Mommy betta too," Emily replied, frowning at Parker.

"That's right. Listen to your sister. I'll be fine," Brennan replied as she stepped over to Parker and placed her left hand on his right shoulder.

He looked at her, but wasn't convinced and she could tell.

"I'm fine. You stay with Em and Angela, okay?" Brennan said as she squeezed his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. Just…feel better," Parker replied, attempting to smile.

"I will," she said, smiling, before turning to Angela. "Thank you, Ang."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Angela said with a smirk.

Brennan left the room as quickly as she could. She didn't want Emily to be exposed to her for another second. She found her way to the waiting room, thinking that Booth and Dr. Caldwell would be there. She was right. They were sitting at a corner table.

Booth saw her coming and smiled as he stood from his seat.

"What's the latest?" Brennan asked as she reached the table.

"Things are going well so far. The treatment is working. Removing the spleen was a major factor," Dr. Caldwell explained as she stood as well.

"I think I might have the stomach flu, so I don't think I should be around her right now," Brennan revealed.

"Did you throw up again?" Booth asked.

Brennan nodded. "Her immune system is weak, she can't deal with fighting off the stomach flu," she replied.

"That's probably best, but we can run some tests to make sure it is just the stomach flu," Dr. Caldwell suggested. "If it isn't contagious, there's no reason you should be separated from her."

Brennan's first reaction was to say no. She didn't want to be "tested," her daughter was the sick one. But for some reason, she found herself saying yes.

"What else could it be?" Booth asked, glancing in Dr. Caldwell's direction.

"Nothing serious probably, but I know your wife wouldn't want to be away from Emily if she didn't have to. Am I right, Dr. Brennan?" Dr. Caldwell asked, smiling.

Brennan returned the smile. "Exactly," she replied.

"Meet me in my office in 10 minutes," Dr. Caldwell said before leaving the parents to themselves.

"I thought you said it was from not eating?" Booth inquired.

"Well, apparently I was wrong," Brennan replied.

They stood in silence for a few moments, both looking at each other with concern.

"I'm glad you slept," Booth said finally.

"I can't believe I actually did," Brennan replied.

Booth smiled softly. "I just hope you don't throw up again," he said as he reached for her hand.

"Yeah well, I'm fine. Emily has treatment in an hour. If I can't be there-" she began.

"She'll be fine. You need to take care of yourself," Booth interrupted as he pulled her towards him. "Go talk to Dr. Caldwell and I'll see you in a bit," he added as he bent his head and kissed her softly on the lips.

She reciprocated and after a couple of seconds, she pulled back.

"I shouldn't contaminate you either," she said with a sigh.

Booth reluctantly agreed and she left the room. He watched her go, hoping that her ailment wasn't as serious as their daughter's.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

"If you had the stomach flu, you would be throwing up as we speak. You have only vomited twice, correct?" Dr. Caldwell asked Brennan, who was sitting on an exam bed.

"Yes, twice. Around 6:30 and then again around 10:45. Maybe it's just exhaustion," Brennan replied as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Well, that could be true, but if you'll pee in a cup for me and let me check you out, I'll at least feel better about things," Dr. Caldwell replied.

"Yeah, okay," Brennan agreed. She didn't quite know why she was allowing this. Perhaps it had something to do with the nagging in the back of her mind.

************************************************************************

"Can you run it again?" Brennan asked Dr. Caldwell as she bit her bottom lip.

"I already ran it twice. You know how the test works, it's 99% accurate," Dr. Caldwell replied, a small smile forming on her face.

Brennan didn't speak for at least 10 seconds. "Well, thank you. Will you be in for Emily soon?" Brennan inquired.

"In about 20 minutes. The nurse should have given her her meds already, so she'll be set," Dr. Caldwell replied.

Brennan sighed. "What's one more thing to think about, right?" she said, half smiling at Dr. Caldwell.

Dr. Caldwell returned the smile. "You have a good team on your side, Dr. Brennan. And I am including myself as a member," she replied.

Brennan nodded slightly. "Thank you," she replied as she turned for the door. As she was about to walk out, she stopped and turned back to the doctor. "Emily really likes you. She's not usually very trusting to strangers. That tells me a lot. Do you have children?" Brennan said.

Dr. Caldwell's smile faded slightly. "No, no I don't. I had a husband and a Schnauzer up until a year ago. He took the vacation home and Rufus with him in one fell swoop," she paused, and then, "slick bastard." The grin was back.

Brennan smiled and stifled a laugh. "Our dog's name is Rufus, too," she said.

"No kidding? I bet Emily misses him. You could bring him in one day. We allow pet visits," Dr. Caldwell replied.

"Great. We just might do that," Brennan said, smiling as another thought formed in her head. "Dr. Caldwell. Do you think Emily will need a stem cell transplant?" Brennan asked outright. It had been on her mind and she finally spat out the question.

Dr. Caldwell didn't hesitate. She knew Brennan wanted directness.

"Yes, I believe she will. I usually don't say anything until 72 hours into treatment, but in Emily's case, it's quite clear," Dr. Caldwell replied, looking Brennan straight in the eyes.

"Then we should all get tested," Brennan said, shifting her jaw as the confession from the oncologist sunk in.

"Just let me know when you would like to get started and I will set up the appointments," Dr. Caldwell replied.

"As soon as possible," Brennan said.

"I'll check with the lab for availability. Do you know how many people will want to get tested?" Dr. Caldwell inquired.

"Definitely myself and my husband. I don't know if we should subject our son to it, though," Brennan replied.

"That's your call. It is for the most part, painless. Testing has improved a great deal over the past few years," Dr. Caldwell explained.

"Thank you for your…straightforwardness, Dr. Caldwell. I appreciate it," Brennan told the doctor.

"Of course. I'll see you in Emily's room soon," she replied.

Brennan smiled in response and left the office. She caught the elevator as it was closing and punched the "4" button, slumping back into the corner. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. She had so many emotions flying through her that she didn't know what to do. She should be happy. She WOULD be happy if the circumstances were different…if they were normal. How was she going to tell everyone? How were they going to deal with this now? She exhaled loudly as all of the emotions washed over her again. The elevator stopped at the 6th floor and the only other person aboard shuffled off and Brennan was left alone. She closed her eyes again and thought of their Emily. She could tell that she was starting to get tired from the chemo already…and she knew it would only get worse. At least the induction phase only lasted 12 days. And then there would be the transplant. Dr. Caldwell had confirmed what Brennan already knew. Had she not gotten some sleep, Brennan might have collapsed under the stress of it all. Instead, she got off on the 4th floor, grabbed a cup of coffee from the waiting room and headed for room 427, ready for what she was going to have to tell them.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

"Mommy!" Emily squealed as Brennan entered the room.

"Hi baby," Brennan replied as she sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to hug her daughter.

"Are you still sick?" Emily asked into her mother's chest.

Brennan pulled out of the embrace. "No, baby, I'm better now," she replied.

"I hope you fee betta, Tempe," a small voice said. Brennan looked to the table to see Davey smiling at her as he fidgeted in his chair. Angela and Parker sat on either side of him, each with a nearly empty plate of food in front of them.

Brennan couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Davey. You're so sweet," she replied.

Davey's "Hodgins baby blues" (as Angela called them) sparkled as he smiled.

"So, you don't have the stomach flu, Mom?" Parker asked.

"Nope. You all are safe," Brennan replied.

"That's good 'cause I can't be sick for practice," Parker said as a mischievous grin attempted to break free from his lips.

Brennan narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Practice, huh? And what exactly would you be practicing?" she asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

Parker couldn't contain himself any longer. The smile burst forth. But before he could open his mouth to speak, his little sister chimed in.

"Parker got kortaback! Daddy's talking to the coach. Parker was the bestest so he gets to be kortaback!" Emily blurted.

"Hey! I wanted to tell Mom!" Parker whined.

"Sowwy," Emily replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, was that an eye roll?" Brennan asked her daughter.

Emily's bottom lip sagged. "No."

"It was, too. Say you're sorry and mean it," Brennan instructed.

Emily folded her arms across her chest and after a few seconds, she looked over at Parker. "Sowwy, Parker," she said dejectedly.

"It's okay, Emmy. I still love you," Parker replied with a smile.

"Good then. Parker, congrats, bud," Brennan said as she rose from the bed and walked to give Parker a hug.

"We'll take him to school and pick him up from practice on Monday," Angela joined in the conversation.

"Ang, you don't have to do that," Brennan said.

"Oh, you don't get a say in the matter, by the way," Angela said, smirking.

Brennan nearly rolled her eyes and was about to say "thank you" before Angela's look stopped her. Angela was the best friend in the world.

"Mommy?" Emily's saddened voice jarred the burst of joy that had begun.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Brennan asked as she made her way to the bed.

"I feel sick," Emily said as she reached for her mother.

"Okay, here, come into the bathroom," Brennan instructed as she helped Emily out of the bed.

They barely made it to the toilet before Emily threw up. Brennan held her forehead with her right hand and pulled her hair back with her left.

"It's okay, baby. You'll feel better in a minute," Brennan said, soothingly as she knelt with her daughter. She could definitely empathize seeing as how she had vomited not an hour earlier.

Emily continued to heave for the next 30 seconds and as she finished, she started crying.

"Mommy!" Emily cried as she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"You're okay, baby. Shhh…you're okay," Brennan soothed as she rubbed Emily's back. A few moments passed before she reached down and scooped Emily into her arms and carried her back towards the bed.

"Is she okay?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, she just needed to throw up," Brennan replied.

Angela stood there, helpless, and this was bugging her to no end.

Emily continued to cry and as Brennan leaned down to set her on the bed, Emily cried louder.

"No, Mommy, don't let go!" she exclaimed as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Okay, baby, I won't. Just hold on to Mama, alright?" Brennan replied as she continued to rub her back.

Angela looked a thought at her and Brennan nodded.

"Davey, sweetie, it's time for us to go, alright?" Angela said as she turned to her son.

"But I wanna stay with Emwy," Davey whined as he looked up at his mother.

"I know you do, baby boy, but she needs to rest now, okay? You can go tell her bye," Angela explained to her son and she took his hand and kissed it.

Davey's bottom lip sagged and a few moments passed before he stepped over to the bed, where Brennan had just sat with Emily.

"Bye, Emwy. I hope you fee betta, too," Davey said as he tried to poke his head around to see Emily's face.

Emily lifted her head from her mom's shoulder and through her tears, she said, "Thank you…for the gwitter…gwobe."

"You're weckome," Davey replied as he smiled at her.

"We love you, Em. We'll see you soon, promise," Angela told her as she took her son's hand.

"Wuv you too, Aunt Angewa," Emily replied, the tears still falling.

Angela smiled at her before Emily returned her head to her mom's shoulder.

"Love you," Angela said to Brennan.

"Love you, too," Brennan told Angela as she nodded.

Angela and Davey left the room and Emily continued to cry.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

"She really thinks Emily will need a transplant?" Booth asked Brennan.

Brennan nodded. "Yes. We can get tested in the morning and Parker might be a good candidate, too," Brennan explained.

They sat in the waiting room. After Emily's treatment, the entire family had chowed down on ice cream sundaes from the hospital cafeteria. Emily hadn't felt sick since earlier and she had been able to eat at least 5 bites of her ice cream. It was now nearly 6 in the evening and Parker and Emily were playing a game of Candyland in her room, allowing Booth and Brennan some time to talk.

"What are the chances that any of us will be a match?" Booth asked.

"There's no way to know," Brennan replied.

"And what if we're not? She gets put on a list?" Booth inquired, his voice rising.

"Yes. Angela wants to get tested and she said that Hodgins had already called the lab to schedule an appointment for both of them," Brennan informed him.

"We have some great friends, don't we?" Booth said, a small smile creeping across his lips.

"Yeah, we really do," Brennan replied.

They sat in silence for at least a minute. Booth contemplated the idea that none of them would be a match and wondered how long Emily might have to wait for the transplant. Brennan, on the other hand, was thinking about something else entirely. She looked over at him and she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He hadn't slept today, but she would make sure he slept tonight. Before she could open her mouth to say what she had waited all day to say, he spoke first,

"I can call Jared and see if he'll get tested, too. Mom and Dad would both get tested if they were alive," Booth said, a hint of sadness in his tone. It had been nearly 4 years since Mr. and Mrs. Booth had passed away.

"I'll talk to Russ. Oh, Russ!" Brennan exclaimed, suddenly realizing that he would be there in less than an hour. "I don't know if she's up for a visit. She's pretty exhausted," she added.

"Well, he's on the road by now. Maybe just a short visit, you know he wants to see her," Booth replied.

Brennan nodded and turned away from him for a few moments. He watched her expression with growing interest as she sighed.

"Are you okay? You haven't thrown up any more, have you?" Booth asked, suddenly quite concerned due to the look on his wife's face.

"No, Booth, I haven't," she replied, her voice cracking.

"What's wrong then? Something's wrong," Booth said. "You haven't told me what Dr. Caldwell said," he added.

Brennan looked to him and their eyes locked. She inhaled slowly and exhaled loudly.

"I'm pregnant," she had said it.

He paused for a moment before a smile overtook his features and he pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and fell into his embrace.

"I was worried it was something serious," Booth said as they pulled apart. He was relieved.

"The timing isn't exactly the best. I wanted to wait until we were alone to say anything," Brennan said.

Booth smiled and reached forward to cup her cheek with his right hand. He gazed into her eyes, his heart bursting with joy by the fact that they were going to have another baby. But his heart was breaking at the same time. One life had just begun, but another could be over soon. Suddenly, he understood the look in his wife's eyes…she had been pondering the same thing all day. And as the realization came upon him, he reached forward and pulled her into another embrace.

"It's okay. Emily is going to make it," he said as she grasped onto him. The fact that he even needed to say it was reason enough to believe that perhaps it was merely wishful thinking.

**A/N: To those of you who thought she was pregnant…GOOD JOB!!! Stay tuned!!!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I was away for Christmas and didn't have a single chance to even sit at the computer to upload a new chapter. Please enjoy and let me know what you think and I will have more up tomorrow!**

**CHAPTER 20**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 26, 2014~~~~~

The next 7 days took their toll on the entire family. Parker had stayed with the Hodgins' for most of the week, having to go to school and football practice. From the hours of 8pm to 8am every night, Brennan and Booth took 3 hour shifts with Emily, allowing the other to get some rest. Although, for the most part, neither of them slept much during their "off time" anyway. Russ brought Emma and Haley on the 20th and the girls played with Emily's plastic horses. Zack came in on the 22nd along with Goodman and the twins. And on the 23rd, Emily got to see Rufus, who happily slobbered all over her arm when she went to hug him.

She had thrown up 9 times in the past 7 days. The seizures and slurring were gone and the chemotherapy was working. She had undergone an MRI on September 21st to check for cancerous cells in her CNS and most of them had been eradicated. This was definitely a good sign and Dr. Caldwell reminded them that results like this were rare in Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemia. By the way things were going, Dr. Caldwell expected Emily to be in remission by the end of induction, which lasted another 4 days.

Booth had taken a leave of absence from the FBI while Brennan had her teacher's assistant take over her 2 classes at Georgetown. As for Emily, she was just going to have to miss school for a while. Her best friends had been asking for her and all of the mothers had called Brennan to wish Emily well.

The pregnancy news was being kept between the parents at least until Emily's first stage of treatment was complete. Then perhaps they would tell the kids while celebrating Emily's remission.

But the one thing on Booth and Brennan's minds were the stem cell test results. Booth, Brennan, Parker, Angela, Hodgins, Zack, Russ, Amy, and Jared had all been tested on the 20th. Goodman had offered, but one of his pre-test workups had not made him a good candidate. And on the 22nd, Camille Saroyan had flown in from Dallas to get tested. Today would be the day most of the results would come in.

It was now 3:18pm and Brennan was sitting in bed with Emily, working a jigsaw puzzle. Booth was on his way to pick Parker up from school so the family could spend the weekend together.

Both mother and daughter wore dark circles under their eyes…and both had been vomiting for the past week. Brennan's ultrasound had shown that everything was normal and she would be back for a checkup in a month. She was 11 weeks along.

As for the jigsaw puzzle, it looked to be about half complete as Brennan connected two of the edges with a single piece.

"That's a funny lookin' dog," Emily said as she tilted her head to look at the picture that lay on the bed table.

"Yeah…it kind of is, isn't it?" Brennan said as she mimicked her daughter's tilt.

And that's how Dr. Caldwell found them. Their heads tilted to the right ever so slightly; their eyes squinting down at the puzzle; their brows heavy with creases; their hair messy on their shoulders.

"Now that's a Kodak moment," Dr. Caldwell said through a smile.

Mother and daughter looked up from the puzzle.

"What's a Kodak?" Emily inquired, looking to Michelle and then to her mother.

Brennan was equally puzzled, but Dr. Caldwell saved her.

"It means that I wish I had a camera to take a picture of you 'cause you're just too darn cute," Dr. Caldwell chimed in, smiling even bigger.

"I have a camwa at home. It's pink and purpa. You can use that. I'll ask Daddy to bring it," Emily responded, a smile forming in the corners of her mouth.

"Sounds perfect," Dr. Caldwell replied, still smiling. She paused a moment and then looked to Brennan. "Is Seeley not here?" she asked.

"He's picking Parker up. Do you need to talk to us?" Brennan inquired, her muscles tensing as her eyes pierced through the good doctor.

"Well, yes. I can wait for him if you'd like," Dr. Caldwell replied, her eyes never leaving Brennan's. It was as if she was trying to telepathically communicate.

"He won't be back probably for another hour," Brennan replied, glancing at her watch. She sighed and turned to Emily. "Baby, do you want to start Cinderella while I go talk to Michelle?" she asked her daughter.

Emily frowned. "I wanna finish the puzza," she whined, bottom lip drooping.

"I'll be back soon, I promise. I'll make you your afternoon snack when I get back, how does that sound?" Brennan tried to encourage her daughter.

Emily perked up a bit at the sound of a snack, but she was still not ready to give up the fight.

"But I don't want you to go. I'll be awone and I don't want Cindarewa right now, I wanna be with you, Mommy," Emily fought back as she rubbed her left eye and sniffled as tears began to form.

"Baby, I will only be gone for a few minutes. Pinky promise," Brennan replied as she took Emily's arm and squeezed gently, raising her right pinky in the air. She smiled at her daughter and waited.

Emily looked up at her mother and after approximately 3 seconds, she lifted her right hand and extended her pinky finger. Reaching forward, she hooked her pinky around Brennan's and they each kissed their own thumb.

"Okay, but you only have 8 minutes," Emily said, her eyes wide as she ordered her mother.

"Yes, ma'am," Brennan replied and she saluted.

A smile finally broke out across Emily's lips as Brennan moved to the side table to open her laptop. She found the DVD under a drawing of a horse and popped it into the computer. A couple of clicks later and Disney's magic castle was lighting up the screen.

Dr. Caldwell watched the interaction from the door, choosing not to interject. It was always important for a patient and their family to work things out without the doctor interfering. Her job was to make Emily better…it ended there. Even though her heart strings did pull for each and every one of her patients.

Once safely outside Emily's room, the doctors were free to speak. Brennan went first.

"None of us are a match, are we?" she asked as she frowned.

"No. We're still waiting on one test and it should be in tomorrow," Dr. Caldwell replied.

Brennan's frown deepened and she folded her arms across her chest, shifting her jaw as she glanced away from Dr. Caldwell. 20 seconds passed in silence.

"So now she gets put on a list?" Brennan inquired, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes. She should get bumped up because of the type of leukemia she has," Dr. Caldwell replied.

Brennan stared at Dr. Caldwell for a few moments before responding.

"Meaning if she doesn't get the transplant, then…" Brennan's voice trailed off as she felt water rush to her eyelids.

"Dr. Brennan, remember our plan? Fight like hell, right? This is an obstacle and we will do everything in our power to overcome it. If you know anyone else that could get tested, absolutely anybody that shares her DNA, you should bring them in. So many of your friends have gotten tested, but if there are family members, that would be helpful. There could even be a possibility of your baby being able to help his or her sister. If Emily can stay in remission long enough, it is possible that your baby's stem cells could be used once they are viable. We have options, that's what I want you to understand," Dr. Caldwell explained, calmly and rationally.

Brennan did not speak. Her mind was too busy reeling to respond. Their baby could help, but that would be 6 months from now, assuming everything went as planned. It was a possibility, but Brennan's brain skipped immediately to another possibility; one that she hadn't even thought of until this very minute. There were many reasons not to even entertain the thought of it and the likelihood of finding a match was very small…but there was a chance, a glimmer of hope. DNA was the biggest prerequisite to finding a stem cell match. Everyone Booth and Brennan knew who was genetically linked had already gotten tested...everyone Booth and Brennan had talked to, at least.

************************************************************************

"None of us are a match?" Booth exclaimed, hands on his hips as he stared at his wife.

Brennan sighed. "They're still waiting on Cam's test, but it's not likely. We knew that going in," Brennan replied, glancing through the window and into the room where Parker and Emily were playing Candyland for the 100th time since they had arrived at Johns Hopkins.

"So, she gets put on a list now and we wait. That's just wonderful. Does Michelle know how long that will be? Forever?" Booth vented as he started to pace.

Brennan didn't speak for another 10 seconds. She wanted to allow him to cool down a bit before she made her proposal. Apparently, Booth could tell she was holding back.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. He looked her straight in the eyes, and he stopped pacing.

Brennan held his gaze and after a few moments, she sighed.

"There's another possibility," she began, her eyes never leaving his face.

Booth's face twitched and he jerked his head slightly.

"What might that be?" he inquired, intent on finding out where she was going with this.

Her lips pursed and she folded her arms across her chest in classic Brennan style.

"My father," she replied as she set her jaw.

At first, Booth thought he hadn't heard her correctly. And then it hit him…why hadn't HE thought of that? His expression changed as a course of action started to form in his brain. He stood, staring intently at her as comprehension sunk in. She saw the change and she knew they were on the same page. A good minute passed before either of them spoke.

"It's easier said than done," Booth finally said.

"I know. And you could lose your job, but…what choice do we have?" Brennan replied, her eyes pleading.

He glanced away from her for a few moments as he thought about who he would have to contact in order to access the witness protection database. Freeman would be able to get him access codes, then he would just need the case number…Ryan would have that. As soon as he had figured it out in his mind, he looked to Brennan.

"Alright. Let me go make a few phone calls," Booth replied, his face severe.

Brennan nodded and Booth walked off. She turned back to look into the room. Emily's hands were in the air and she was smiling. *Keep smiling, baby. We're going to fix you*


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

"But what if Roxie won't wait for me?" Emily asked, frowning up at her mother, who sat next to her on the bed.

"Roxie will wait, baby, I promise. She isn't going anywhere. When you get all better, you can ride Roxie as much as you want," Brennan explained to her daughter.

"Pinky promise?" Emily asked, raising her right pinky in the air.

Brennan smiled. "Pinky promise," she replied, hooking her pinky with her daughter's. As she did, she saw purple beneath Emily's pajama top. She brushed her sleeve up and gazed at the misshapen bruise. It was a new addition to the collection of a dozen or so contusions Emily had suffered. With her platelet counts depleted from the chemotherapy, she was bruising almost to the touch.

"It's okay, Mommy. It doesn't hurt," Emily said as she looked into her mother's eyes.

Brennan's gaze fell back on her daughter's face and she pulled her into her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around her small frame. She closed her eyes and held onto Emily for dear life, rubbing her back. As she rubbed, something soft fell into her hand. Brennan opened her eyes and glanced down only to see a dozen auburn ringlets entwined in her fingers. Tears rushed to her eyes as Emily pulled out of the embrace.

"Mommy, I feel sick," Emily told Brennan, her face pale and ghostly.

Brennan forced the tears back. "Basin or toilet?" she asked her daughter.

"Basin," Emily replied.

Brennan reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the basin just in time for Emily to throw up in it. Brennan rubbed her back as Emily heaved and the ringlets continued to fall.

Emily finished and Brennan wiped her mouth with a tissue.

"Do you want to brush your teeth?" Brennan asked.

"I'm too tired," Emily replied as she leaned back in the bed.

Brennan clenched the ringlets in her hand so Emily couldn't see them and she got up to dump the basin. Once in the bathroom, Brennan let the tears and the ringlets fall. She knew Emily would be asleep in less than a minute, so she had a few moments to herself. Leaning on the sink with her elbows, Brennan took her head in her hands and she cried. As she sobbed, her stomach grew queasy and after a few minutes had passed, the urge to vomit was too great and she lunged for the toilet.

After flushing, she wiped her face with a cold washcloth and looked at herself in the mirror…red eyes, dark circles, pallid skin tone. She didn't know who looked worse: her or her daughter. She continued to look into the mirror, but her gaze traveled to her belly. She placed both of her hands on her abdomen and turned to the side. She wasn't showing yet, but she could feel the slight bulge of her uterus expanding. She should be happier…she should be taking better care of herself…but then again, her Emily shouldn't be sick; she should be in kindergarten, playing with her friends, and riding that damn pony! *But she's not. She's stuck in a hospital fighting for her life* Brennan added to her thought. The tears returned and Brennan's hands fell from her stomach to the sink.

A moment later, the bathroom door opened and Booth appeared. Without a word, Brennan stepped forward and fell into his arms. Booth held her tightly as he pulled her as close to him as he could. After a minute, Brennan pulled out of the embrace, the tears still streaming, and she pointed to the trash can.

"Hair," was all she could sputter.

"What?" Booth asked gently.

"She's…losing her…hair," Brennan sputtered some more.

Booth looked past her and into the trash can where the ringlets had fallen.

He looked back to Brennan, his face serious. She could tell he had something to say.

"Did you find him?" Brennan inquired, the tears slowing as a glimmer of hope reignited itself in her heart.

Booth reached into his pocket. "2529 Elmhurst Drive, Littleton, Colorado," Booth replied as he handed her a single piece of paper.

Brennan took it and her eyes flew across the writing. "Henry Fisher," Brennan finally spoke.

"He owns his own barber shop. I checked and he's in town," Booth informed his wife, who looked up at him with a renewed sense of optimism.

"I can catch a flight tomorrow morning," Brennan replied, handing him the paper.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Booth asked.

"It doesn't matter if I am or not. I'm going," Brennan replied as she stepped forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. This is our baby girl. I'd cut off my own arm if it meant saving her," Booth said as he cupped her cheek in his right hand. After a few moments of staring at each other, Booth sniffed the air and his brow creased. "Did you throw up?" he asked.

"Yes," Brennan replied without emotion. "And so did Emily," she added, closing her eyes for a moment before reopening them.

"The vomiting is exhausting, no wonder she's out cold," Booth remarked.

"She didn't notice her hair, Booth. I don't know how to tell her, she'll be able to see that it's falling out when she wakes up," Brennan said, worry spread across her features.

Booth took hold of her hand and led her out of the bathroom before speaking.

"I'll talk to her while you go see your dad," Booth told Brennan and he looked her straight in the eyes as he took her other hand in his.

Brennan looked over at Emily. Her mouth was agape and her right arm hung off of the bed.

"Let's hope I come back with a miracle," Brennan said as she watched her daughter roll over onto a pile of her own hair.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry for the slight delay! This chapter is the first installment of the rest of the story. Chapter 21 was where I left off when I posted this earlier in the year. I hope you all are enjoying and I appreciate the reviews! **

**CHAPTER 22**

The house was modern with a soft yellow hue of paint. 3 steps led up to the front porch that included a swing and a table and chairs. A newspaper sat on the table along with an ashtray. Brennan made note of this and wondered if her father had taken up smoking in his new life. Around the right side of the house was a short drive that ended at a detached one-car garage.

She stood on the lawn for what seemed like an eternity. She had gone over what she was going to say perhaps a thousand times on the plane and yet, she was still nervous. She had no idea if he would even be a match; Booth could lose his job; her father's safety could be at risk because of her visit. She had thought through everything in her mind and nothing could outweigh the health of her baby girl. This was for Emily. Although, in the back of her mind, Brennan couldn't deny that she had missed her father.

Brennan took one last look at the house, took a deep breath, and proceeded up the steps. She jabbed the button on the door and heard a pair of chimes within. 20 seconds passed. Nothing. Brennan punched the doorbell again, sighing as the tension in her chest began to rise. She had checked with the barber shop and he wasn't working today. But she hadn't even considered that he wouldn't be home. Another 30 seconds passed in silence. Brennan peered through the glass on the door. The entryway was empty, except for a lamp table.

"Great," Brennan said aloud. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked. She couldn't believe it; he wasn't home. She turned from the door and walked to the swing. *I can wait all day* she thought as she took a seat.

She was about to pick up the paper when a green Subaru pulled into the driveway. Brennan stood and turned, her palms resting on her hips. She walked a few feet towards the steps and stopped in her tracks.

Max Keenan…Henry Fisher got out of the driver's seat as a woman with long, blonde hair got out of the passenger's seat.

Max opened the back door and grabbed a plastic grocery bag before turning towards the house.

"It's okay, Nan, I'll get that done later," he said to the woman as he made his way to the front steps.

Father and daughter stood frozen in time, Brennan on the porch, Max on the lawn. It was the first time she had laid eyes on her father in nearly 7 years. Although she had gone longer than that without seeing him, he was a sight for sore eyes. She must have been too because Max had to fight the tears forming in his eyes.

The moment didn't last as "Nan" reached Max on the lawn.

She saw Brennan and startled. "Um, can we…help you?" she inquired, her eyes wide.

Brennan hesitated, completely unprepared. She opened her mouth to speak, but Max cut her off.

"Julianne. Oh wow, am I late?" Max blurted as he twisted his watch around.

Brennan, albeit confused, went with it.

"Only slightly…late," she managed to say as her heart skipped two beats.

"Sorry, Nancy, this is Julianne from uh…oh hell, I was gonna make it a surprise, but you know that house over on Cherry Hills Drive?" Max said as he smiled at Nancy.

Nancy's face had not changed much over the past 30 seconds. "Uh, yeah?"

"Well, I was going to make an offer and Julianne is here to go over the details," Max explained, darting a glance over at his daughter.

Brennan swallowed hard and walked down the steps. "Hi. Julianne Booth…man, Boothman," Brennan said with a quick catch of her breath as she reached her hand out to Nancy.

"Nancy Steele, nice to meet you. Henry? Are you sure we can afford this?" she asked, a half smile on her face.

"Well, that's why Julianne is here. I'm so sorry, Julianne. I must have gotten the time confused. I apologize," Max offered as he turned to get another good look at his daughter.

"It's alright, I haven't been waiting long," Brennan replied, forcing a half smile herself.

"Nancy, why don't you get started with the hors de oeuvres while Julianne and I get some things accomplished," Max suggested, handing the grocery bag to Nancy. He then turned to Brennan. "We're having a dinner party."

"Uh, sure. Henry, I am in shock. Happy, of course, but still," Nancy replied as she took the bag and gave Max a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, nothing is settled yet, just need to talk about some things," Max replied as he returned a quick peck to Nancy's cheek. He stole a glance at Brennan in an attempt to gauge her reaction…to which he was unsuccessful.

"Sure. Uh, thank you, Julianne. Hopefully, I'll be seeing more of you," Nancy replied, turning to Brennan as she smiled.

"Yes. It was nice to meet you," Brennan replied, not quite sure what to make of her father's story. *He's living with a woman? Is he married?* she couldn't help but think.

Nancy made her way to the front door and waved back at Max and Brennan. They watched her until she had shut the door and then turned back to look at each other. They each wore a soft smile, both hiding tears.

"The park across the street has a picnic table," Max offered.

Brennan nodded slightly and followed her father silently across the street, knowing they couldn't really talk until they were well out of sight of Nancy.

They walked side by side until they reached the picnic table. Max turned to Brennan and smiled again.

"It's good to see you," he informed her.

Brennan stood in silence as she regarded her father and after a few seconds, she stepped forward and embraced him, squeezing him tight.

"It's good to see you, too, dad," she said as she closed her eyes.

Max returned the hug and he could tell from her body language that something was wrong. Where she lacked intuition, Max made up for it tenfold.

A crease formed in Max's brow and he broke the embrace. "Honey, what's wrong?" he asked, keeping a grip on Brennan's left arm. He knew it had to be serious if she had found him.

Brennan fought back the sting of tears and she took a long, deep breath.

"It's Emily," Brennan began, "she's sick. She has a rare form of leukemia," and Brennan's voice caught in her throat as the first tear escaped. "Sh-she needs a stem cell transplant and everyone we know has been tested and none…" another tear, "none of us are a match," she sputtered before closing her eyes to allow the tears to spill.

She didn't even have to ask. "I'm on the next flight out with you."


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23**

They were in Baltimore by 10 o'clock that night. They had reminisced and shared stories, but Brennan hadn't mentioned the family "news" quite yet. Max told her that he and Nancy had gotten married in the spring. She was happy for him, but she also found it a little strange not knowing about her father's life. He always found a way to keep up on their life. 2 days after Emily was born, there was a large package waiting on their door step…an entire Disney Princess collection of everything from bottles to onesies to pacifiers. And every year on her birthday, Emily got something from Grandpa Max. Brennan wasn't sure how he did it and truly, she didn't want to know.

Brennan pulled into a parking space at Johns Hopkins and cut the engine. She sighed before looking over at her father.

"Thank you," she told him, her eyes gleaming.

Max's expression was soft yet full of concern. He managed a small smile.

"Let's get up there so I can finally meet my granddaughter," Max said, reaching over to squeeze his daughter's shoulder as he spoke.

Brennan smiled back and nodded.

"I got you scheduled for an 8 o'clock stem cell test tomorrow," Brennan informed her father.

"They can't do it any earlier?" Max inquired, clearly anxious.

"It's past 10 at night, the lab is closed," Brennan said as they reached the elevators and she punched the "4" button.

"Oh, well, okay," Max replied as he looked away from Brennan.

The elevator stopped on the 2nd floor as two nurses got on and headed for the 3rd floor. Brennan and Max stood silently, although Max looked back at her, studying her from head to toe. The elevator stopped on the 3rd floor and the nurses got off. Brennan glanced over to see her father eyeing her suspiciously.

"What?" she asked him, a confused look on her face.

Max half smiled. "You look...different. Have you been eating?" he asked in a fatherly tone.

Brennan nearly rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad, it's just been…stressful," she replied, sighing yet again.

Max continued to eye his daughter as the elevator doors opened to the 4th floor. She stepped out first and Max lingered for a few seconds before following her. Something wasn't quite right and while he couldn't even imagine what she was going through with Emily, he thought there was something else.

Brennan led him towards Emily's room, but Max reached his arm out and stopped her.

"Are you and Booth alright?" Max inquired. He wanted to get down to exactly what was different about his daughter.

Brennan's brow furrowed deeply. "What? Yes, we're fine. What is wrong with you?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

Max eyed her again and he took a step back, leaving his arm on her shoulder, and he examined her one more time. After a few seconds, a smile broke out across his face.

At this point, Brennan thought her father had a mental condition. "What?!" she asked again.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Max asked, a quirky grin on his face.

Brennan's mouth fell half open as she stared wide-eyed at Max. She struggled for words, but she was too tired to try and come up with an alternate answer.

"Yes. Yes, I am pregnant," she finally replied, a small smile forming in the corners of her mouth.

Max stepped forward and hugged her. "That's wonderful, honey."

As she broke the embrace, she frowned, "How do you always know these things?" she asked.

"Intuition. Remember, I've always been good with it," he replied, still smiling.

The happiness overtook the sadness, if only for a few moments. Then, all became somber again. Father and daughter both grew quiet as their smiles faded.

"I'll go get Booth and see if Emily is awake," Brennan said and she started for Emily's room.

"What about Parker?" Max asked.

"He's here too. Probably hanging out in the game room," Brennan replied.

"The hospital has a game room?" Max inquired.

"It's the children's wing, so yeah. But he might be playing with Emily. I'll be back in a minute." And with that, she disappeared down a hall.

Max stood and waited and all he could do was think about the granddaughter he had never met…and how he might never get to know her.

************************************************************************

Brennan entered room 427 to find her husband and her daughter asleep. Booth sat in a chair beside Emily's bed, holding her hand, his mouth half open. Emily leaned on her left side and her mouth hung open as it often did when she was in a deep sleep. Brennan smiled softly and let out a sigh of relief. Parker was nowhere in sight and Brennan figured her original assumption had been correct. As she walked towards the bed, she saw something different about her daughter; her hair wasn't quite the same color it had been 24 hours earlier. Brennan was curious and she bent down to take a look…it was a wig. Booth had gotten her a wig. And suddenly, tears came to her eyes *Has all of her hair fallen out since I've been gone?* Brennan wondered. The furrow returned to her brow and she gently brushed her daughter's cheek. A moment later, she felt a hand on hers.

"Hey, did you just get back?" Booth asked, straightening in his chair.

"Yeah," she said before looking back at Emily. "You got her a wig."

Booth stood from the chair and squeezed her hand.

"Almost all of her hair is gone. We made it a fun game and Dr. Caldwell brought in the little mannequin heads with the different colors. She actually enjoyed it. I thought she might want to try something different, you know, blonde. But she said…" Booth's voice trailed off and his eyes shifted downwards.

"She said what?" Brennan asked, tilting her head to find his eyes.

"She said…she still wanted to recognize herself when she looked in the mirror. That's why we went with the dark brown," he replied, meeting his wife's gaze, his eyes glistening.

Brennan regarded him for a moment before stepping forward into his arms. They stood for a few minutes, holding each other…and they both cried. They were exhausted, but they couldn't take long to think about it because they had to move forward. And the next step in that process was getting Max tested.

Booth broke the embrace. "Is he here?"

Brennan nodded. "He didn't even hesitate. I didn't even have to ask him to come," she replied. "His test is tomorrow morning at 8. Oh, and he's married," Brennan added absently, as though all of her thoughts were jumping out at once.

"Married? What on earth did he tell her about this?" Booth asked.

"I have no idea. All he wants is to help Emily. He's really anxious to meet her," Brennan said with another sigh and a small smile.

"Well, she's been asleep for about an hour. Maybe we oughta wait until morning to do the introductions," Booth suggested.

"Yeah, that's fine. And he knows I'm pregnant. I didn't say a word, but the man always knows things…kinda like you," Brennan informed him with a small smirk. "Is Parker in the game room?"

Booth didn't have time to respond; Emily shot up in bed and threw up before she even had a chance to really wake up. Booth and Brennan were by her side a second later.

Emily started to cry and Brennan held onto her and dabbed her mouth with a tissue.

"Mommy…you're back. I m-missed you," Emily sobbed into her mother's chest.

"I missed you too, baby," Brennan said soothingly.

As Brennan held Emily, Booth threw back the sheet, wadded it up, and tossed it into the dirty clothes bin.

"I'm gonna go get some more sheets. I'll be right back, Em," Booth said and made a gesture indicating he would go and talk to Max. Brennan nodded in agreement.

Brennan held her daughter tightly and rocked her as she cried. Tears began streaming down her own face and she had only one thought in her head: *Please let my Dad be a match*


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I just finished some editing and tweaking to this chapter, so that is why I didn't post it yesterday. Hope you all enjoy! Keep the reviews coming!**

**CHAPTER 24**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 28, 2014~~~~~

"This…is Grandpa Max," Brennan told Emily.

"You're my top secret gwandpa?" Emily asked him, her eyes slightly wide with wonder.

Max smiled and bent down to her bed to give her a gentle hug.

"Yup, that's right. But guess what?" Max said, engaging Emily.

Emily leaned forward slightly. "What?" she said expectantly.

"I don't have to be top secret anymore. I can see you even more now," Max explained.

Booth and Brennan looked to each other, both clearly confused. It was one thing for Max to come and get tested (which he had done 3 hours earlier), but they figured he would just go back to his life. He needed to stay in witness protection. What was he talking about now?

"Really? That's cool 'cause you always give me the best birfday gifts," Emily said as enthusiastically as she could. Her smile shone through her dark circles.

"We'll get to see more of you? Really?" Parker chimed in. He hadn't known Max very well, but his dad's parents had died and he was excited at the thought of having a grandparent around.

"Yeah, kiddo. All the top secret stuff is finished," Max said, looking to Parker and then smiling at Emily. He avoided the stunned and confused looks from his daughter and son-in-law. "So, what do you want to do with Grandpa Max today?" he asked Emily.

Emily smiled weakly. "We could play Candyland," she replied. "I don't have my tweatment for a while, so we have time, right Mommy?" Emily asked, looking up at her mother.

Brennan gathered her composure just in time to answer. "Yes, Em, we have a couple of hours." Her mind was reeling over her father's comment.

"Ugh, Candyland? Again?" Parker whined.

"Who said you had to pway?" Emily sneered.

"I wanna spend time with Grandpa Max too," Parker fired back.

"How 'bout I get him for an hour and then you get him for an hour?" Emily offered.

Booth and Brennan found this quite adorable and they couldn't help but smile.

************************************************************************

"What are you talking about, 'the top secret stuff is finished?'" Brennan asked forcefully as she and her father sat down at a table in the cafeteria. She had finally gotten him away from the kids when Emily had gone for her treatment. It was now around 1:15 in the afternoon.

"Well, Tempe, I've been doing some thinking. I talked to Booth and-"

"What do you mean, you talked to Booth? Is he helping you with this? He could lose his job, Dad," Brennan spat, her eyes wide.

"No, no, I meant that I talked to him about what I was thinking…just a little bit ago while you were talking to Angela. Most of the people who I didn't help put away are either NOW put away or they're dead. It's safe for me now," Max explained.

"You can't compromise yourself like that," Brennan replied.

"Honey…family is more important. I'm an old, washed up criminal. Nobody cares about me anymore. And I want to spend time with Emily while…while I can," he replied, his eyes darting away at the last part of his comment.

Brennan glared at him for a moment before speaking. "You're going to be a match, Dad. You're our last chance and I just know you're going to be a match. You have to…be a match," Brennan sputtered as the all too familiar tears stung her eyes.

Max reached over and took hold of her arm. "I just want to be here," he said, his expression soft as he stared into his daughter's eyes.

Brennan took in all of the information. The last thing she wanted was for her father to put himself in danger. But, he did have a point…none of the unsavory characters he had dealings with were left. And she knew that it would be important for Emily to have him in her life…and it would be important to her.

After a minute, Brennan spoke. "What about Nancy?"

"I'll tell her everything. If I know her like I think I do, she'll understand. She comes from a shady past as well. I'll fill you in some other time," Max replied after seeing the suspicious look on his daughter's face

For some reason, Brennan didn't inquire any further.

"There you two are." Russ' voice jarred Max and Brennan from their conversation.

Max rose from his seat.

"Hi Dad," Russ said and Max stepped forward and embraced his son for a long few moments.

Brennan watched before standing to give her brother a hug as well.

"How is she?" Russ asked.

"Chemo is still working, but she's lost almost all of her hair. They're rushing Dad's test results, so we'll know in 2 days whether he's a match," Brennan explained.

"I talked to Booth for a minute and he told me you two were here. I also told him that Dad and I would stay with Emily and we would meet Angela and see Parker off. YOU and your husband are going home," Russ informed his sister.

Brennan's face contorted into a fit of confusion and astonishment.

"What? No, Emily needs her-"

"Medication. 3 pink pills at 6 o'clock. You need rest and this is nonnegotiable," Russ said as he crossed his arms, a smug look on his face.

Brennan's jaw dropped slightly and she didn't know what to say. She could tell she wasn't going to win this one.

"Did Booth already agree?" she asked.

"He was telling Emily when I came to find you," Russ replied.

Brennan shifted her weight and stood silent for a few moments. She did not want to leave Emily, but she knew that her little girl loved her uncle and her grandfather. And she knew that Emily would be fine.

After 30 seconds, Brennan finally spoke, "Alright. But we'll be back later tonight before she goes to bed."

"Deal. Now go get some rest," Russ said as he stepped forward and kissed his sister on the cheek.

************************************************************************

"What if she gets sick?" Brennan asked her husband as she tossed her purse on the bedside table.

"Russ and your dad will take care of her," Booth replied as he threw his jacket on the sofa at the end of the bed.

"But what if she starts crying? What if she wants us?" Brennan inquired, her eyes wet.

"They'll call us, you know that. Just…breathe," Booth told his wife as he turned to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them gently.

"I just…don't want her to be scared," Brennan said, dropping her head and closing her eyes to let a tear spill out.

Booth placed his right index finger under her chin and tilted her head up. Her eyes opened and she met his gaze.

"I don't either. But she has family with her and as her parents, we need to be able to take care of her. And in order to do that, we need rest," Booth said, his thumb gently brushing her chin as he tipped his head towards the bed.

She knew he was right and she stood and stared into his eyes for a long while. She found tenderness and exhaustion, along with fear behind those eyes. She brought her right hand up to rest on his left cheek and she leaned her forehead in to touch his, shutting her eyes on contact.

He leaned his forehead into hers and closed his eyes as well. A minute passed, the two of them standing together, leaning on each other as they had done so many times in the past. Booth reached both of his arms up to Brennan's shoulders and gently pulled her head away from his. Her eyes met his and as her hand dropped from his cheek, he caressed her cheek with his right hand. After a moment, he pulled her gently to him and brushed his lips against hers.

Her body went on high alert the instant his lips touched hers. She responded and deepened the kiss, reaching her arms around his neck and straining to get closer. Taking care of their daughter had been draining and they had not had time for lovemaking. She hadn't even thought about it until right now, as her husband slid her shirt up and over her head. He started unbuttoning his shirt and she finished and slipped it off of him. She met his lips ever so softly and as she brushed them over and over, the tears began to fall.

Booth tasted the salt before he saw the tears. He pulled away from her lips and gazed at her for a moment before speaking.

"We don't have to-"

"I want to. I'm just…I love you…so much," Brennan sputtered as tears streamed down her cheeks. She stepped forward and kissed him again, draping her arms over his shoulders. Maybe if she stayed wrapped in his arms, all of their problems would melt away and everything would be fine…she could only hope.

He held onto her tightly and pulled out of the kiss yet again, only to say "I love you more than you can imagine."

She closed her eyes as another tear overflowed.

He pulled her towards him and they both fell to the sheets, shedding the rest of their clothes as they embraced. Warmth emanated from them as they became one, moving slowly as they stared into each other's eyes. Booth caressed Brennan's hair and then moved to her cheek as he bent to kiss her neck ever so softly.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and reached her left hand around to the base of his neck, tugging gently on his hair. His lips sent electric pulses throughout her body and he must have sensed it because he let his lips linger after each and every kiss. After the ninth or tenth kiss, she opened her eyes and pulled his head back gently, so his eyes met hers.

Sweetly, he smiled down at her, their bodies in perfect harmony. And their gaze did not waver until they were both overcome with ecstasy. She moaned and he groaned as the waves of pleasure crashed over them again and again. He relaxed and fell onto her, breathing heavily. She kissed his shoulder and reached her right hand around to scratch his back.

After a minute, he rolled over onto his back and she nuzzled into his side. She brought her right arm across his chest and hugged his midsection as he squeezed her tightly with his right arm. Wordlessly, they lay, wrapped in each other's arms. Finally, they drifted off to sleep…visions of Emily dancing in their heads.


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

~~~~~SEPTEMBER 30, 2014~~~~~

"I'm so very sorry," Dr. Caldwell said, looking between Booth and Brennan. They were gathered in her office while Max watched Emily.

Brennan felt as though her heart had just been ripped from her chest. She stood wide-eyed and felt as though she might faint.

"Thank you, Dr. Caldwell," Booth said, recovering for a moment from the shock.

"This isn't the end. Her cancer is in remission and she will be near the top of the list for a transplant," Dr. Caldwell explained.

Brennan was frozen to her spot, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on nothing. Her face was unreadable, as though it were too tired to form a single expression. Her mind was nearly blank, absent of all the horrible "what if" scenarios and replaced with an impending sense of doom. This was it. This was what they had been working to prevent. They had pulled her father out of witness protection, for Christ's sake! He was genetically linked, he HAD to be a match…but the truth cut like a knife to the heart. Emily Erin Booth was going to die…their sweet, precious, beautiful, spunky little girl had just been issued a death sentence…and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Perhaps that was why she fell to the floor; perhaps it was that mixed with the fact that she hadn't eaten in 2 days or that she was pregnant. Whatever the cause, Temperance Brennan fell to the ground before Booth could catch her. She didn't even feel it. After about 10 seconds, her eyes fluttered open and Booth was staring into them.

"Temperance, hey, look at me," he said to her, as he grasped her hand with all the strength he had.

Her head rolled and she brought her focus to her husband. She took a deep breath and Booth held her hand and guided her to a sitting position. A few seconds later, Dr. Caldwell reappeared with a cup of water and a gurney.

Booth took the cup and held it to Brennan's lips. She closed her eyes and turned her head.

"Drink the water, Dr. Brennan. You fainted and you're pregnant; you need fluids," Dr. Caldwell instructed. "You can rest here for as long as you'd like. I am going to get Emily's name entered into the transplant database," she said as she indicated the gurney. She knew she needed to give them their space.

"Thank you," Booth said to her and she whirled around and disappeared.

Booth turned back to his wife and lifted the cup to her lips. Brennan smacked it out of his hands and it tumbled to the floor, spilling all over both of them. He held her as she sobbed and he felt the tears begin to sting the backs of his eyelids. He felt her body shudder and he listened to her tears and as much as he wanted to be optimistic and to be encouraging, he couldn't help but face reality. And in that instant, Brennan let out a sound that came from the very core of her soul…a sound that was not human…a sound that might have come from someone confined to the darkest depths of Hell. As she sobbed, she collapsed into Booth's arms and he wrapped her up and held on tight.

As he grasped his wife's trembling body, tears spilled onto his cheeks and bitter reality hit him square in the face. He collapsed onto her and they sat, wavering in each other's arms, rocking back and forth on the cold hospital floor…and they could feel the hope slipping away.

************************************************************************

"I'm gonna have a baby sista?!" Emily screeched, her eyes wide and glowing with excitement.

"Or a brother," Brennan replied, forcing a small smile.

"That's so cool! Parker, isn't that the coolest?" Emily said as animatedly as she could. She was weak and tired and it showed.

"Yeah, it is, Em. Wow," Parker replied as he looked from his sister to his mom and then to his dad, who flashed him a smile.

It was now past 6 in the evening and nearly 5 hours since Booth and Brennan had left Dr. Caldwell's office. Russ, Amy, Haley, Emma, Max, Angela, Hodgins, and Davey would all be there in less than an hour to celebrate the end of Emily's induction treatment. They would be taking her home for a couple of days to get some rest before she began her next phase of chemotherapy. They had hoped that the next phase would be the transplant. That hope was gone, at least for now…at least until someone came up as a match in the database. The plan had changed and she would be back in 5 days to begin consolidation treatment, which would last for 6 months. She would be spending 4 days at a time in the hospital with 3 days at home before returning for more treatment. It would go on like this for as long as it took…and both Booth and Brennan had to be ready…and that is what had forced Brennan to regain her composure and move forward. It was also what had started her thinking about alternative treatments and the reason she had begun researching.

Brennan listened as Parker and Emily talked about their new sibling. Emily wanted her little sister to be her best friend while Parker imagined a baby brother who he could teach to play football. Booth chimed in to ask them their opinions on names. Parker came up with Tanner for a brother and Emily's favorites were Miley, Gillian, and Lila…no surprise there. Although, she did add that she liked the name Stardust as well. Brennan listened, but she didn't speak. Her gaze stayed fixed on her daughter while her mind returned to what she had learned an hour earlier. A little more research and she would tell Booth her plan for Emily.

"Temperance? Don't you think that'd be cute?" Booth's voice shattered Brennan's thoughts.

"Wh-what?" Brennan stammered.

"Mommy, I wanna give my new sista my bwanky 'cause she'll need something warm to sweep with," Emily explained to her mother, her blue eyes sparkling as she smiled in anticipation of her mother's response.

Brennan smiled, snapping out of her reverie. "That is incredibly sweet of you, Em. I'm sure she'll love that," Brennan said to her daughter and she took a seat on the bed next to her. She wrapped her right arm around Emily and then motioned to Parker. "Park, come here," she said as she patted the spot next to Emily.

A bit confused, Parker looked to his dad, who returned an equally perplexed look. But he did as Brennan said and he joined his mom and sister on the bed. Emily matched her mother and put her arm around her brother, stretching it up high to reach Parker's shoulder.

"Seeley…all we need is you," she said, smiling softly as she hugged both of her kids and looked to her husband.

Booth smiled and took his place on the chair next to his wife. She draped her arm over his neck and shoulders. She looked to him before looking to her children, a soft smile dancing across her lips. And then she spoke…

"I want each of you to know how much I love you. Because that's what we all need right now…love. Love and family are the most important things on this earth. And I want us to bow our heads and say a family prayer," Brennan began, tears forming in her eyes.

Booth's smile softened even more as he listened to her; and he squeezed her hand before looking to his son. Parker nodded slightly and he bowed his head. Emily gazed at her mother and she followed her actions as she too bowed her head and closed her eyes.

"Dear Lord, please watch over every person in this room, including our unborn baby child. Please keep each and every one of us close to you and to one another. Please wrap our Emily in your arms and heal her; make her healthy and vibrant so she can ride her pony and play with her friends again. Watch over Parker and keep him healthy as he grows into a wonderful man. And Lord, keep my loving husband safe and strong. He is the one that holds us all together; he is the rock of this family. And last, please watch over our baby, who is growing inside of me. May he or she be healthy and full of life. Please protect the Booth family. We ask this prayer-" Brennan spoke, tearfully, but was cut off by her husband.

"And Lord, please watch over Temperance…and give her the strength and health she needs to be the one true rock of this family. Please, God, ease her worries as she selflessly takes care of each and every one of us. We all ask this prayer in your name. Amen," Booth finished and he crossed himself.

As he opened his eyes, he looked to his wife. With her eyes, she told him she loved him as the kids said "amen." She then pulled Emily into a hug and reached for Parker. Booth placed his right arm around Brennan and his left around Parker and pulled all of them into an embrace.

The Booth family sat in each other's arms for a long while and Brennan prayed silently that this would not be one of their last family hugs…she asked for many more.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

"The baby's stem cells can be viable at 13 weeks. That's only 10 days from now. It's a relatively new procedure, it was first done in 2013, but it has been 100% successful given the baby is a match," Brennan told Booth as they stood outside Emily's room.

Booth regarded Brennan for a few moments. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He sighed. "10 more days then? 10 more days and then we can see if our baby is a match for Emily?" he questioned, wanting to make sure he had this straight.

"Yes," Brennan replied. "The chances of our baby being a match are in the 90th percentile, close to the 95th, actually. I didn't believe it at first, but the more I read, the more confident I became. This could be it, Booth…our miracle," Brennan said, her voice speeding up as she spoke. She could barely contain her excitement.

"So, what now? Why didn't Dr. Caldwell think of this? Does she still need to undergo consolidation?" Booth inquired.

"We need to talk to her. It's so new, she hasn't performed one. Emily might not have to undergo consolidation. We would need to keep her healthy for the next month so that when our baby's stem cells are extracted, she is in the best possible shape to receive them. A good immune system makes for a more successful transplant," Brennan continued.

"Keep her healthy…okay. But what if the baby isn't a match?" Booth had to ask it. This truly was their last chance, but he had to ask.

Brennan sighed and looked deep into his eyes. "Then we're back on Dr. Caldwell's floor," Brennan replied as she crossed her arms and shifted her jaw.

Booth looked at his wife and then through the glass on the door and into Emily's room. Emily's head was smooth and hairless and her wig was sitting atop Davey's head. Emma and Haley stood by, laughing along with Davey and Emily. Angela, Russ, and Amy watched the kids, while Hodgins appeared to be in a heated discussion with Max and Parker.

This was their one and only chance.

"100% success rate. You can't argue with them odds," Booth said as he turned back to Brennan, game face on.

Determined and with hope revived, Booth and Brennan set off to find Dr. Caldwell.

************************************************************************

"There are risks involved. I know oncologists who have had success, but only 33 procedures have been performed," Dr. Caldwell explained.

"Yes, but with a 100% success rate for those with matches," Brennan added.

"Quite true," Dr. Caldwell replied. She paused a moment and looked between Brennan and Booth. She knew this woman was a fighter; she had figured that out the first day she had met Temperance Brennan. She would fight to the bitter end and that bitter end was fast approaching. "The closest hospital performing the procedure is The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, but Emily cannot travel. I'll make a phone call; the #2 oncologist knows me pretty well," Dr. Caldwell explained smirking ever so slightly.

"How well?" Booth inquired.

"Let's just say he got the dog…and I got the house," Dr. Caldwell replied smugly as she glanced at Brennan, who caught on right away. "I will come and find you just as soon as I hear something. Dr. Brennan, we will need to discuss your part of the procedure as well," Dr. Caldwell explained.

"I've read up on it. Whatever it takes, you know that," Brennan told the doctor.

"Right then. Go be with your little girl and let me handle this," Dr. Caldwell instructed before whirling around in that way she always did and disappearing down a hallway.

Brennan turned to Booth and before she could open her mouth, Booth's lips were on it. Happily surprised, she closed her eyes and kissed him softly back. Booth swept her lips a second time and then leaned his head back to look at her. She opened her eyes a second later.

"You did this. If our baby is a match, you will have saved Emily's life. Michelle wouldn't have thought of this; it was all you," Booth told his wife as he smiled softly.

"No. WE did this. If we hadn't conceived another child, none of this would be possible. WE, Booth…WE," Brennan said softly, eyes gleaming as a tear trickled down her left cheek.

He smiled sweetly. "WE…sure do make a good team," he said as he brushed the tear away.

She smiled back. "Always have…always will," she replied and her lips met his again.


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

~~~~~OCTOBER 10, 2014~~~~~

The needle was in and out within a minute.

Brennan watched as Dr. Norman Caldwell carried a syringe filled with her baby's stem cells over to a test tray and then she closed her eyes as the nurse taped a gauze bandage to her abdomen.

"Well, Dr. Brennan. We should know if it's a match within 24 hours. You should rest," Dr. Caldwell explained as he pulled off his latex gloves.

"How long does it usually take? Precisely," Brennan inquired, turning her head to glance at the doctor.

"Usually between 12 and 17 hours, but it has taken up to 24 in the past, that is why I say 24," he said, dryly.

Brennan regarded him for a moment. "Thank you," she said.

He smiled faintly and then, "I will let Michelle know we are finished. I hope to see you again soon," Dr. Caldwell said as he nodded to Brennan before leaving the hospital room.

She hoped she would be seeing him in 12 to 17 hours. She closed her eyes again and let out a deep breath. Suddenly, she was wishing she had taken Booth up on his offer to accompany her to the procedure. She had insisted that he stay at home with Emily, who had been particularly sick during the first 10 days of her remission. She had a number of new bruises and she had vomited 15 times since returning home from Johns Hopkins on October 2nd. Dr. Michelle Caldwell had said that it was a reaction to one of her medications and that her body would get used to it. *If our baby is a match, she won't need the medicine anymore* Brennan thought hopefully. She reopened her eyes and fought back the tears. *12 to 17 more hours*

************************************************************************

"Mommy, you're home!" Emily squealed as Brennan and Angela walked through the front door of the Booth home. It was just past 3 in the afternoon.

"Hi, baby," Brennan said as she gently scooped Emily up into her arms. "How are you feeling?"

"A litta betta. Daddy made me special soup," Emily told her mother, smiling as wide as she could.

Brennan brushed her wig away from her face and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"I love you, baby girl," Brennan said through a smile.

"I wove you, too, Mommy," Emily replied and she returned her mom's kiss on the forehead.

Brennan smiled and set her down as Booth walked into the entryway.

"Hey, how'd it go?" he inquired.

"Well, for starters, she attempted to leave without being discharged," Angela chimed in with a smirk as she playfully glared at her best friend.

"No, I didn't. I WAS discharged, they just hadn't taken the IV out, so I took the liberty," Brennan replied, matter-of-factly.

"You ripped the needle out of your arm?" Booth asked his wife, grimacing slightly at the thought of it.

Brennan tilted her head and looked him in the eyes. "I wasn't going to sit there and wait for some nurse when I could be on my way home to my baby girl," Brennan responded with a "so there" jab of her chin as she laid a hand on Emily's head and ruffled her synthetic hair.

Emily smiled and she grabbed her mother's hand. "Let's go watch the movie," she said as she tried to drag her mother behind her.

"Why don't you take Aunt Angela and start the movie while Mommy and I talk, huh?" Booth asked his daughter.

Emily looked back and forth between her mom and her dad, her eyes squinting as her dark circles shone in the afternoon sun that glinted in through the windows.

"Okay, but you hafta pinky pwomise to come soon," Emily replied, dropping her mother's hand and sticking out her right pinky.

"Pinky promise," Brennan replied, smiling, and bent down to hook her right pinky around Emily's. Both girls kissed their thumbs and Emily reached for Angela.

"Aunt Angewa, come on, I'll show you the cool thing I made Daddy," Emily said as she turned for the kitchen. Angela followed right behind her, smiling at the parents as she walked.

They watched them go and then Booth spoke, "How long?"

"12 to 17 hours from the time of the test, possibly up to 24," Brennan replied.

"How do you feel?" Booth asked, placing his right hand on her belly.

Brennan laid her left hand on top of his and looked in his eyes.

"I'm fine. Just anxious," she replied through glistening eyes. "8 to 13 more hours, God, it's excruciating," she said as a tear spilled.

Booth rubbed her abdomen softly. "We're all together. Emily wants to watch Cinderella for the 3rd time today. Parker can do his homework. We'll maybe play a few games of Candyland. We'll eat dinner and we'll all be together when that phone call comes in," Booth nearly whispered as he smiled softly.

Brennan's lips turned into a soft smile and she wiped the tear away. A few moments later, she nodded.

"Okay. Let's go watch Cinderella," Brennan said as she smiled and allowed a small laugh to escape.

Booth smiled back and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"Ew, stop kissing. You pinky promised you'd come soon and it's soon now, so come on!" Emily exclaimed as she grabbed both of her parents' hands and dragged them towards the den.


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28**

The digits were blurry. Brennan squinted and forced her eyes open. 2:47. As she returned to consciousness, she felt an ache in her neck. Wrinkling her nose, she lifted her head and reached around to rub the left side of her neck. For a moment, she was disoriented, but it soon became clear. Brennan was curled up on her right side at one end of the couch while Emily's head rested on her calves. Brennan smiled at the sight of her daughter: mouth wide open, right arm and left leg hanging off of the couch, care bear tucked under her left arm. Parker was out cold in the recliner with his head in a position that would most likely cause his neck a good deal of pain upon awakening. Brennan looked to her right and saw Booth stretched out on the other recliner, his mouth half open as well. *She must have gotten that from him* Brennan thought. The blue DVD main menu screen was the only light in the room. Someone must have stopped "101 Dalmatians" but apparently hadn't taken the time to actually turn off the television.

Brennan grabbed a couch pillow and gently placed it under Emily's head. She then swung her legs to the floor and stood. She grabbed the remote and tiptoed to the kitchen. She flipped on the small lamp before stretching her arm out and pointing the remote at the television. It clicked off. Brennan watched Emily as she shifted in her sleep. Neither Booth boy moved a muscle.

Brennan smiled softly and then took a seat by the lamp. She stared at the phone, willing it to ring. She closed her eyes and rested her head in her right hand. It had been nearly 12 hours since she had gotten home…nearly 16 since the test. *It could be 24* she reminded herself. She didn't think she could last another 8 hours. They had all managed to have an enjoyable evening with Candyland, spaghetti, and 3 different Disney movies. She and Booth had exchanged glances numerous times throughout the night, each stealing a glimpse at the phone every now and then. She had amazingly been able to let go of the anxiety gripping onto her chest. But now it returned and she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to regulate her breathing.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there when the shrill of 2 separate phones broke the silence. Her eyes flew open and she glanced up at the microwave clock: 3:15. Booth appeared by her side and after looking at him, she picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Alright, this is the second to last chapter. I know, it's been a REALLY long fic. On Microsoft Word, it's 109 pages. Unreal since I haven't written a fic over 62 pages in the past. This one just kept going and going, but I have had a blast writing it! I hope you all have enjoyed reading it. So, here you go. Read, enjoy, and review!**

**CHAPTER 29**

~~~~~AUGUST 14, 2015~~~~~

"Ama-zing grace, how sweet, the sound. That saved, a wretch, li-ike me. I once wa-as lost, but now a-am found, was blind, but now, I see. 'Twas grace that taught, my heart, to fear. And grace, my fears re-elieved. How pre-cious did, that gra-ace appear, the hour I first be-lieved." The words echoed throughout the church and the beautiful voice touched the hearts of everyone.

Booth, Brennan, Russ, Amy, and Max sat in the front pew watching Emma continue to sing. All were dressed in black. Tears stained Brennan's cheeks and she had given up on her tissues. She didn't care if her cheeks were streaked with black. Booth had managed to keep the tears at bay, but his eyes were burning. Brennan sat between Booth and Russ. At some point during the middle of the song, Russ looked over to his sister and placed his right hand on her left, squeezing gently. Without looking at him, she squeezed back. Seeing his tears would only make her cry more.

"When we've been here, ten thou-sand years. Bright shi-ning as the sun. We've no, less days, to sing God's praise, then when we've first be-egun. Ama-zing grace, how sweet, the sound. That saved, a wretch, li-ike me. I once wa-as lost, but now a-am found, was blind, but now, I see." Emma finished the song and the preacher took his place at the podium, inviting everyone to the Booth home for a "celebration of life."

The front row of family filed out, Brennan leading the way. She caught a glimpse of Angela, whose cheeks were also streaked with black tears. They locked eyes for a moment as Brennan continued to walk. Her eyes scanned the assembly quickly and she spotted Zack, Goodman, and out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Cam, but she couldn't be sure. After a good 5 seconds, she resumed looking straight ahead as all eyes were on the family. She sped up her pace in response to the staring faces. Once outside the church, Russ turned to her.

"We'll see you at the house. You all go on, we'll be right behind you," he said as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Alright," Brennan replied. She then turned to Emma and pulled her into an embrace, "That was beautiful."

Emma managed a small smile. "Thank you, Aunt Tempe."

Brennan smiled through the tears and then turned to give Amy a hug.

"See you in a few," Amy said, her eyes wet.

"I'll go ahead and get a ride with them," Max spoke up as he hugged his daughter.

"Okay," Brennan replied simply.

Booth mimicked his wife's actions and embraced Amy before saying something to Emma, which Brennan didn't hear. She was in a bit of a daze.

They left the rest of the family and made their way to the car.

Brennan stared out of the window for the first few minutes of the ride. She was lost in a daydream filled with images of children…hers and Booth's, Russ and Amy's, Angela and Hodgins'. Emma, Davey, Emily, Haley, Abby, Tanner, Parker…and then her face curved into a frown as a thought reentered her head for perhaps the thousandth time.

"I still don't understand why you didn't want Parker to come," she blurted, her eyes fixed on Booth.

Booth sighed. "I told you, he's seen too much death in his life. I still don't think taking him to Rebecca's funeral was wise. He was in a funk for a while. Remember? He kept talking to her and she 'told' him he could use the scissors to cut his own hair," Booth explained. "Gashes, blood, crying…and a lot of blonde ringlets," he added.

"Yes, but this is different. This isn't his mother, it's-" Brennan began.

"YOU'RE his mother," Booth said and he looked her straight in the eyes.

Brennan softened a bit and stayed quiet for a few moments.

"I just think it's healthy for a young person to be able to grieve and a funeral is the perfect opportunity to do so," Brennan explained and Booth reacted as though it were the 100th time she had said that…and it probably was.

"Look, it's over. Done. He stayed home with the babysitter, we can't change that now," Booth replied.

Brennan sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them.

"I know. I'll stop, I'm sorry," she said as she returned to her daydream.

Booth glanced over at her as he stopped at the stop sign down the street from their house.

"Don't be sorry. He'll grieve in his own way," Booth said, his eyes soft.

Brennan looked to him and nodded.

They rode the next couple of blocks in silence and in less than a minute, they were pulling into their driveway. Two vans labeled "Cravings Catering" were parked by the garage.

The first thing Brennan heard upon entering the house was the high pitched scream of a baby. The house was busy as the catering crew of 5 buzzed about as they put the final touches on the food. Brennan had no doubt that this was the reason her baby was crying. She looked to Booth and made her way to the den.

Samantha Goodman was holding the baby, trying desperately to stop the shrieking. She saw Brennan walk in.

"Oh, Dr. Brennan, she just started fussing. One of the catering people dropped something and it was loud," Samantha said as she handed the baby over to her mother.

"It's okay, Sam. Thank you," Brennan said as she took the wailing child into her arms. "Shhh. You're okay. You're fine, baby girl," Brennan soothed as she bumped her butt with her hand. Within a minute, the little girl was cooing in her mother's arms.

"Hey, Sam. Where are the rest of the kids?" Booth inquired, taking his daughter's hands and making faces as he smiled.

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Parker locked himself in his room and he won't come out. Before little one started crying, I heard pounding," Samantha replied, clearly on the brink of a breakdown. "At least little Tanner is out cold. He's 2 months old and he's been the best one!" she exclaimed.

"Angela will be glad to hear that her baby boy was on his best behavior," Brennan commented with a smile.

"Sam, don't worry about it. They're kids, they're supposed to cause trouble," Booth said, smiling widely.

Samantha managed a smile and then nodded her head.

"She needs changing. You want to go see what's going on before everyone gets here?" Brennan asked Booth.

"Yeah, I'll go see if I can get him out of there," Booth said, sounding a bit worried as he remembered his wife's concern over proper grieving.

Brennan bounced Abby and locked eyes with her husband for a moment before turning towards the kitchen, on her way up the front stairs and to Abby's changing table.

"Anything I can do, Mr. Booth?" Samantha asked.

"You've already done so much. Thanks, Sam. Your dad and sister will be here with everyone else in a minute. I'll go see what's going on upstairs," Booth replied with a smile and a raise of his eyebrows.

The sight he came across at the top of the back stairs was not exactly what he had been expecting. Parker's door was closed and Davey sat on the floor a foot from the door. Duct tape hung from the doorknob and dangled down to the floor, something indiscernible attached to the end. A number of plastic forks, knives, and spoons littered the ground in front of Davey. On his left sat a fake credit card, which had been broken into two pieces. Three American Girl dolls stood against the door, facing Davey. And to complete the scene, Davey wore a Spiderman mask.

Booth stood for a minute before speaking.

"Hiya, Davey. What's going on?" he asked the child.

Davey looked up, but he didn't take off his mask.

"Parker won't let us in; he's being a big meaniehead!" Davey exclaimed.

"Us?" Booth inquired, glancing around.

Davey ignored the comment.

"It's just not fair! He yelled at me. I was just trying to help him wif his dinasars and he kicked me out!" Davey said as he dug both hands deep into his armpits. Booth could envision his bottom lip sagging underneath the mask.

Booth stepped forward, snickering slightly.

"Alright, Davey, let me talk to him, okay?" Booth said.

"Okay," Davey said, dejectedly. He scooted his butt away from the door and backed up against the wall in the hallway.

Booth knocked on his son's door. "Park? Whatcha doin' in there?" he asked in a friendly tone.

A few moments passed…and then, "I wanted to be alone," Parker replied through the door.

"I get that, bub, but Davey's pretty upset and I think you should come out and say you're sorry," Booth reasoned with his son.

"Davey's a baby!" Parker yelled.

"I am not!" Davey protested.

"Where's Emily to protect you, baby?!" Parker screamed as he flung his door open and the dolls toppled to the ground.

"HEY! That's enough!" Booth bellowed.

Parker stared wide eyed at his father, somewhat in shock. But his eyes showed that he knew he had crossed the line. Davey, on the other hand, started to cry.

"What is all the screaming about? Abby is already fussy," Brennan asked, appearing with Abby at the other end of the hallway.

All of them stood still for a few moments, none of them sure of what to do next. A moment later, the silence was broken.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I know a lot of you were confused about the last chapter…and that was the point. I know, I'm mean, aren't I? ******** But alas, here is the final chapter and everything should be all cleared up. I really really appreciate you all hanging in there with this story. It has taken A LOT of time and effort to write and I had a lot going on in my family this year, so that is why it was abandoned for a little while. But now, a year after I started it, it is finished. I don't think I've EVER done this much research…for anything before. But it has been worth it and I thank you all for reading and reviewing. Let me know what you think!**

**CHAPTER 30**

"I got it! I got it!" a voice yelled from downstairs. Within a few seconds, an out-of-breath little girl appeared at the top of the stairs.

"It's too late. Parker's out," Davey replied with a sniffle as he brushed the tears from his face.

"Awww! This was gonna be awesome!" the little girl whined.

Brennan couldn't help but smile, but she had to break this up because their guests were arriving.

"Davey, your mom and dad are downstairs," she told him.

"Yay!" Davey screamed and he jumped to his feet, brushed past his friend, and disappeared down the stairs, forgetting that he had been crying only moments earlier.

"As for you, what are you doing with that?" Brennan asked, referencing the brightly colored gun-like object in the little girl's arms.

"We were gonna blast down Parker's door so he couldn't ever lock us out again," the little girl replied, her blue-gray eyes shining brightly. "See, my dolls were gonna help build the army."

"With a Nerf Blaster, Em? Yeah, that would have worked REALLY well," Parker replied, sarcasm dripping.

"Alright, you two, quit it. You both need to say you're sorry. So…go," Booth instructed.

Parker sighed, waited a couple of seconds, and then spoke up, "I'm sorry for locking you out of my room," he said, his eyes glancing down and then up again.

"I'm sorry for knocking over all your dinosaurs," Emily said as she dropped the Nerf Blaster on the floor with a sigh.

"Good. Now, let's go down and be with Uncle Russ and Aunt Amy. This is a tough day for them," Booth told his kids.

Booth led the way and Parker followed, ruffling his sister's auburn curls as he passed her. She ducked in defense. He smiled back at her as he disappeared down the stairs with his dad.

"You'll need to clean that up later," Brennan told her daughter as she walked towards her.

"Yeah, I know. I will," Emily replied. "Can I hold Abby?" she asked.

Brennan smiled. "Of course," she replied as she leaned down and placed Abigail gently in Emily's arms. Abby smiled and grabbed a strand of her sister's hair.

"That…used to be fake, Abby," Emily said as she smiled brightly at her little sister.

Brennan smiled again at her 2 girls. One of them wouldn't be here if not for the other. That thought alone made both of them even more precious to her, to Booth as well.

Abby blew bubbles and Emily giggled.

"Mama? Was I this small when I was 4 months old?" Emily asked as she looked up at her mother.

"Yup. You know, your brother asked us the same thing when you were born?" Brennan replied, ruffling Emily's ever-so-rufflable hair.

"Really?" Emily replied, her eyes wide. A few moments passed and Brennan was about to remind her daughter that they needed to go downstairs when Emily spoke again.

"Is Haley in Heaven?" she asked.

Brennan's smile faded and she kneeled to both of her daughters.

"Yes, baby, she is," Brennan replied.

Emily thought about this for a few moments. As she thought, Abby reached her little hand in the air and tapped Emily on the nose.

"That's where I would have gone if Abby hadn't saved me, right?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

Brennan's heart fluttered.

"Right, but that didn't happen and here you are, healthy as can be, holding your baby sister," Brennan said as she reached over to brush Abby's cheek.

Emily looked to her mother, who had tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Mommy. I'm gonna look afta Abby and make sure she never ever gets sick like I did," Emily said as she looked her mother straight in the eyes, her smile almost angelic.

Brennan let a tear spill out before reaching forward and kissing Emily on the forehead. Abby cooed as if expecting a kiss as well.

Emily obliged and leaned down to kiss her sister on her forehead. Then, she leaned in and did the same to her mother. Brennan smiled sweetly as she swept some curls out of Emily's face.

"You are the sweetest little girl ever," Brennan said as she stood to her feet.

"I am?" Emily inquired. "What about Abby?"

"Well, she's pretty sweet too," Brennan replied with a seemingly nonchalant shrug and a smirk on her face.

"We're the sweetest girls ever, Abby! Pretty cool, huh?" Emily said as she gazed wide-eyed at her sister. Abby reached her arms in the air and hiccupped in response. Emily looked up and held her sister up to her mom.

"I think you're her favorite," Emily informed her mother.

"She loves all of us just the same," Brennan said with a smile.

"I love YOU, Mommy," Emily said with a huge smile on her face.

"I love you too, baby girl," Brennan said with a goofy grin. There were smiles all around as Abby joined in.

"Are you girls coming?" Booth appeared at the top of the stairs.

"We're having 'girl time,'" Emily replied, glaring playfully at her dad.

"Oh really?" Booth asked before reaching down and scooping her up into his arms. "Oh wow, you're heavy."

"Am not!" Emily squealed.

Booth tickled Emily and she fell into a fit of giggles before he put her down on the ground. She raced down the stairs and disappeared.

Booth stopped to look at his wife and baby daughter. His heart swelled with love and he stepped forward and kissed Brennan softly on the lips. He pulled away after a few moments.

"How's our little miracle worker doing?" he asked as he ran his hand over Abby's scalp. Jets of blonde streaked across her head, a rarity in the Booth family.

"She and her sister were doing some bonding," Brennan replied as she swayed Abby back and forth.

"That's got to be the tightest bond ever made, those two. Do you know that you saved your big sister's life? Huh? Do ya?" Booth asked little Abby, making funny faces and moving her legs to the beat of his words. She gazed at him through big blue eyes, a curious look on her face. "Nope, not a clue," Booth added with a snicker.

"Don't worry, she'll get a clue. She'll learn all about how she saved the life of Emily Erin…her big sister and her best friend. We'll be sure to tell her exactly how much of a miracle she truly is," Brennan said through tearful eyes.

Booth smiled softly and they stood for a long few moments, each of them thinking of the journey they had taken together. It had started 10 years earlier and with any luck at all, the journey's end would not be for a long, long time.

************************************************************************

**THE END**

**A/N: A little note: I originally intended for Emily *not* to survive, hence the title "The LIFE of Emily Erin." However, throughout the process I realized that I couldn't do it. Especially to my readers…you all. You all made me to come that realization and I thank you. I don't think it would have been right to "kill her off." And I hope you all enjoyed the way it turned out in the end. **


End file.
